The stage was set on Sunday for the final round of the 2022-23 season with the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
As the day progressed, it was a two-headed race between last week’s BMW Championship winner Viktor Hovland, and 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist Xander Schauffele.
Hovland, who opened Sunday with a six-shot lead, made sure he did not surrender that same lead after three rounds like Rory McIlroy coming back from six strokes down for the FedEx Cup over Scottie Scheffler last year.
Through the first nine holes, Hovland and Schauffele were recording birdie after birdie. In total, Schauffele’s 5-under 30 was only one stroke better than Hovland’s 4-under 31 on the front nine.
Despite back-to-back birdies on the par-3 11th and the par-4 12th to get the deficit down to three, Hovland later made back-to-back birdies of his own on the 16th and the 17th to go on and defeat Schauffele by five shots.
With the victory, Hovland won $18 million and became the third youngest to win the FedEx Cup.
Here are five takeaways from the Tour Championship, the final event of the FedEx Cup.
Also read: Top takeaways from the BMW Championship
Viktor Hovland did not crack under pressure
Throughout Sunday’s final round, Viktor Hovland ensured he did not blow a six-stroke lead by aiming for pars or better.
He would go on to shoot a bogey-free 8-under 62 to finish at -27 for the week.
A big part of his Sunday to remain at par or better really set in at the par-4 14th. With back right hole location, Hovland was unable to get on the green in relation, being about 100 feet away. In addition, his chip was still 23 feet away.
However, Hovland stepped up and made his putt that broke from right to left for the par save, which would also go on to be his longest putt made this week.
Hovland, who is from Oslo, Norway, also made a clutch 10-foot putt for par to ensure Schauffele was going to make things more interesting late.
Hovland became the 14th different player to hoist the FedEx Cup. In addition, he became the fourth player to win the BMW Championship and the FedEx Cup in the same season, joining Tiger Woods in 2007 and 2009, Billy Horschel in 2014, and Patrick Cantlay two years ago.
Xander Schauffele continues his strong Tour Championship success
Xander Schauffele came into his seventh Tour Championship finishing no worse than seventh, including a couple of runners-up.
This week at East Lake was no different for the San Diego native as he tied Hovland as the low aggregate score at 19-under 261.
Schauffele continues to remain consistently among the top when it comes to playing the final event of the season at East Lake, which will go under a course renovation that looks to be completed before next year’s Tour Championship.
The San Diego State alumnus, who tied with Hovland with 14.033 strokes gained: total, recorded a final round 8-under 62 and gave Hovland a run for his money, especially early.
Schauffele was making putts throughout the day but could not quite keep his stretch going. After being 7-under through 12 holes, he only made one more birdie as the final round progressed.
Schauffele did everything he could to win but ran into a hot Hovland.
Wyndham Clark finishes the year strong with a top-5 finish
The U.S. Open Championship winner made sure his major win was going to be the highlight. Wyndham Clark recorded all four of his rounds in the 60s, including a final round 5-under 65, en route to a third-place finish behind Hovland and Schauffele.
Despite finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard during the FedEx St. Jude Championship two weeks ago to start the playoffs, Clark was able to turn this around immediately, finished tied for 15th last week at the BMW Championship and his solo third finish this week.
He went from being near the bottom in the FedEx St. Jude Championship field in multiple strokes gained categories to being inside the top 12 in all six categories, including a couple of third place ranks in strokes gained: total and around the green.
In 27 events this season, Clark recorded 13 top 25s and seven top 10s, in addition to his two victories to cap off the 2022-23 slate.
Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm & Scottie Scheffler struggle in Tour Championship
The Big three in golf, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Scottie Scheffler, had obstacles to overcome, but not to the level of being in contention in the final round of the Tour Championship.
McIlroy, who dealt with a lower back injury heading into the week, had an opening round 70 and a Saturday 1-over 71. He finished fourth at 14-under par.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who has had his struggles with the putter, recorded only one round in the 60s and shot 1-under over 72 holes to tie for six. Scheffler was only able to finish -1 through 72 holes despite having started the week at -10 for his success in the FedEx Cup standings.
2023 Masters Champion Jon Rahm shot a final-round 4-over 74, en route to a 7-under par finish, while placing tied for 18th.
Rahm continued to struggle, including after a couple of top-40 finishes over the last two FedEx Cup playoff events.
It was a challenge for the world’s three best players to find their way to the top of the leaderboard.
Also read: The top 10 players in the world entering the Tour Championship
Collin Morikawa & Adam Schenk have strong finishes to PGA Tour season
Outside of Hovland and Schauffele, if there are two players that stand in their own ways this week, it is Collin Morikawa and Adam Schenk.
If you did not know who Adam Schenk was, you definitely knew about him as the week progressed.
Both Schenk and Morikawa started strong in the first round. Schenk recorded an opening round 7-under 63, while Morikawa recorded a 9-under 61.
Morikawa, who has won two major tournaments in his career, could not quite finish the way he started, playing 5-over through his final 36 holes, and joined Scheffler, among others, in the sixth position.
Throughout the playoffs, Morikawa was to donate $1,000 for every birdie that he makes to support those affected by the wildfires in Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Morikawa’s grandparents were born in Lahaina, and his grandfather owned a restaurant called “The Morikawa Restaurant” on Front Street in Lahaina.
Over the last three weeks, he made 44 birdies, which means $44,000 will be donated in his name.
All season long, when Schenk missed a cut, he would respond with one or multiple top-10 finishes, totaling seven top 10s this season.
Schenk, who played in 32 events this season, which is the most among the Tour Championship field, tied for sixth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and finished the year inside the top 10 to the Tour Championship, the final event of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season.