As my wife Pepper would gladly attest, I watch WAY too much sports. Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, tennis, golf: whatever is in season, and especially if one of my favorite teams or players is in contention. This year, I got my moneys worth of free entertainment watching the four mens major golf tournaments, each of which featured a different winner but a similar story of redemption.

In order to appreciate the victories of each major tournament winner, a little back story is helpful. At last years British Open, Adam Scott led by four strokes with just six holes left to play. But his four consecutive bogeys, combined with Ernie Els birdie on the 18th hole, gave Els a one-stroke victory and left Scott with a collapse that commentator Nick Faldo predicted might scar him for life.

But thats one great thing about golf (and about life): scars can heal. And at this years Masters Tournament, Scotts healing process culminated on the second playoff hole against Angel Cabrera, a worthy competitor who played magnificently late on Sunday. Often golf amounts to a game of millimeters, and ultimately the birdie putt that Scott drained on the final hole was just that much better than the putt that Cabrera missed on the lip of the cup. Scotts victory was satisfying on many levels: as his first major win; as a way to make up for the missed opportunity at last years British Open; as the first time an Australian had ever won the Masters; and thereby, as some solace to his countryman Greg Norman, who came torturously close to winning several times at Augusta without ever capturing a green jacket.

If there is a golfer who might know even more about agonizing near-misses than Norman, it is perhaps Phil Mickelson. This years U.S. Open saw another valiant effort from Mickelson, who recorded a commendable but still unsatisfying sixth runner-up finish there. Coming down to the last few holes, Mickelson held a slim lead over Englishman Justin Rose, a talented player whose effortless swing has often been compared to Adam Scotts, but a player who has also underachieved on tour. On Sunday afternoon, Rose ultimately prevailed over Mickelson by making more putts coming down the stretch, leaving Mickelson with another bitter reminder that golf and horseshoes are fundamentally different games.

But as Phil has often proven in his career, he is resilient. Four weeks after his U.S. Open heartbreak, Mickelson rebounded with a win at the Scottish Open. Then a week later, in one of the greatest finishes ever recorded by any golfer, Mickelson played what he now calls the best round of his life, scoring 65, and coming back from five strokes off the lead to win the British Open by a stunning three-stroke margin. From tee to fairway to fringe to green, Mickelsons play was virtually flawless.

Finally, at this years PGA Championship, another act of redemption and unlikely hero came in the form of a victory for Jason Dufner, a journeyman who missed a great chance to win that same tournament in 2011 when he surrendered a five-shot lead with four holes to play. This time Dufner was impeccable on Sunday, landing nearly every drive in the fairway, and hitting approach shots that would have made his idol, Ben Hogan, positively envious. Dufners understated reaction to good shots or bad is much the same, and perhaps his even temper can serve as a reminder to great golfers like Tiger and hackers like me that staying calm is one of the secrets to success in this challenging sport.

Speaking of Tiger, which I am pleased to say that I have not done in this column nearly as often as golfs television commentators appear addicted to doing, Jason Dufner offered this observation a couple of years ago: The networks and the media maybe focus on bigger names for a reason. Thats who people want to see. People want to see Tiger Woods. People want to see Phil Mickelson. But there are other guys that can really, really play golf out here and that are good that youve never heard of.

To which I say, Amen. The last 21 majors have seen 19 different champions, which makes this an exciting time for golf lovers. Now lets hope that the networks will spend more time covering the many other great, and dare-I-say, often more likable golfers, who do not happen to be named Tiger Woods.

John McColgan writes from his home in Joseph.