Morning 9: Hovland dominates

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Good Monday morning, golf fans, as Viktor Hovland earned himself a mammoth payday with a stunning performance at East Lake.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”The Scandinavian country known more for downhill skiing and snowboarding is now home to the hottest golfer on the planet after Hovland won the Tour Championship by 5 strokes over Xander Schauffele at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday. Hovland carded a 7-under 63 in the final round.”

Sean Martin for PGATour.com…”Jertson, Ping’s vice president of fitting and performance, was even more surprised when he heard Hovland’s voice on the phone. One of the most important rounds of his life was quickly approaching. But Hovland couldn’t help himself. He had questions that needed to be answered. On this rainy day at Oak Hill Golf Club, Hovland needed to know how the precipitation was going to impact things like spin rates and friction on the face of his clubs. Hovland, Mayo and Jertson spent about five minutes on the phone breaking down the science behind the inclement conditions.”

AP report…”Megan Khang needed an extra hole to win her first LPGA tournament in 191 career starts.”

DP World Tour report…”Todd Clements claimed his maiden DP World Tour victory as he carded a brilliant bogey-free 63 to hold off the challenge of Matt Wallace and win the D+D Real Czech Masters.”

AP report…Vijay Singh won The Ally Challenge on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions title in nearly five years, mainly because of a five-putt triple bogey by Paul Goydos.

Golf Channel’s Colby Powell…“Tiger Woods made his way to the Northeast to the site of Trout National – The Reserve, for what appeared to be a tour of the land that will soon be a world class golf facility. As seen in the video, business partner and MLB superstar, Mike Trout, was along for the ride.”

Adam Woodard for Golfweek…”PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan got the Roger Goodell treatment on Sunday night.

Driver: Ping G425 LST (9 degrees @8.4)

Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 TR X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees @ 16.5)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Ping i210 (4-PW)

Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid 85 X (3), KBS Tour-V 120 X (4-PW)

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 (50-SS, 56-SS), Ping Glide 2.0 (60-TS)

Shafts: KBS Tour-V 120 X (50-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)

Putter: Ping PLD DS 72 prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Tour Rundown: Greatness rises

Morning 9: Rory: Player of Year 2 horse race | Tiger’s impact as player director | Tour Champ photos

GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

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It’s time for golf to rest for a bit. Yes, there still are playoff chases on the LPGA, DP World, Korn Ferry, and PGA Champions tours, but none of them carries the gravitas of the conclusion to the PGA Tour.

The Solheim and Ryder Cups will be contested in back-to-back weeks, in glorious Spain and Italy, but that won’t happen for another month. That might be the coolest idea ever, but that’s a story for another column.

This week, we saw wins on five tours, plus a senior women’s open in the USA. That’s a lot of running, but we have the verbal legs, so let’s dash off with this week’s Tour Rundown.

59 ON A SUNDAY @DavidKocher21 makes birdie on the last to shoot the third 59 of the season @BoiseOpen. pic.twitter.com/k08rJ9IdvX

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 27, 2023

Over the last month, we saw two incredible fortnights of golf on the PGA Tour. First, it was Lucas Glover, winning back-to-back and inserting himself into every conversation on the golf planet. These last 14 days have given us the rise of Hovland, as Viktor Hovland stormed to greatness with wins at Chicago and Atlanta.

Speaking of conversations, it was supposed to be a fight to the finish, between Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm. As things turned out, it was Viktor Hovland who moved the party to his place. No doubt, Rahm will win the Player of the Year award, but Hovland certainly inserted himself into that conversation.

For those who crunch numbers, Hovland and Xander Schauffele posted equal totals of 261 strokes over the four days. Thing was, Viktor began the week with that five-shot advantage over the 2021 Olympic champion, that came from the year-long seeding process. For those who love minutiae, there will always be a conversation about who might have won a playoff between the two. Fact is, it’s fiction. Xander gave great chase, and might have closed the gap to two shots if Viktor had not drained the par putt that you see below.

With the win, Hovland earned his third victory of the year, and a FedEx Cup title. Now, it’s on to that first major title, which we believe should come in 2024.

This angle ? pic.twitter.com/xigXoILCIn

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 27, 2023

Waverley Country Club closes with two par-5 holes. With those two holes left to play, Trish Johnson had a three-shot advantage over Leta Lindley. Both had been close in this tournament in recent years. Johnson had T3 and T2 finishes since 2019, while Lindley was runner-up last year at NCR Country Club. Lindley made birdie at 18, while Johnson posted bogey at 17. In that flicker, the lead was one shot. Summoning all the strength and vibes of a career in touring professional golf, Johnson found her fifth stroke at the bottom of the 18th cup, just enough fuel to claim a one-shot, outright victory.

In truth, it was much closer than that. Catriona Matthew, Lindley, and Johnson came to the final four holes in a virtual tie. Johnson made birdies at 15 and 16, to stretch a margin. Matthew ultimately placed solo third at two under par. Lindley’s last-hole surge brought her to three-deep, while Johnson managed that 4-under finish by the width of a blade of grass.

Trish Johnson played like a champion! ?

With her #USSeniorWomensOpen victory, she earns the @Lexus Performance of the Day. #LexusGolf pic.twitter.com/za7G5zxXFU

— USGA (@USGA) August 28, 2023

Todd Clements is 27 years old. He does not have a Wiki page, which tells you much about his career. On Sunday in Prague, Clements played what he called the best round of his life. He made three bunches of consecutive birdies: 1-3, 6-8, and 10-12. Probably around the 13th tee, Clements realized what he was doing. He had caught countryman Matt Wallace, one of the hard-luck kids from England, and had a two-shot advantage. Wallace made a birdie at 14 but could make no more. He finished at 21-under par.

As for Clements, he parlayed his incredible opening 12 holes into a 63. He managed to par the remaining six holes, and when he picked his ball out of the cup on 18, the young man from Colchester had a life-changing scorecard to sign. With the title, exemptions, and invitations await, as 2023 just got a whole lot brighter!

The moment @golfclements found out he joined the winners circle on Tour ?#CzechMasters pic.twitter.com/TZgEM9oIZ2

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 27, 2023

This Chan Kim wanted in on the consecutive-weeks club. After Glover and Hovland, the Arizona State alum held off a hard-charging David Kocher to win again on the Korn Ferry Tour. How hard-charging? Well, Kocher posted a 59. Yup, that’s pretty speedy. As for Kim, he opened with 66, then went no higher over the next three rounds. 62 on Friday, followed by twin 64s on the weekend, gave him a two-shot advantage over the latest member of the sub-60 club.

Don’t think that Kim was unaware of Kocher’s magic. Despite the pursuit, the native of Korea was resolute in his mission and was able to claim the first playoff event of the KFT 2023 extra session. The tour moves on to Tennessee and Ohio after a two-week break, then concludes the season in Indiana. For Chan Kim, the future is bright, and it takes place on the PGA Tour.

ANOTHER birdie for Chan Kim ?

He leads by two shots thru 12. pic.twitter.com/v5jsJCiki9

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 27, 2023

Meghan Khang opened the door, unsealed the envelope, and let the field back into the chase for the Canadian Women’s Open in Vancouver. Jin Young Ko took advantage and finished tied with the young American at 9 under par. The pair went off to a playoff hole, where Kang was able to make a regulation par. Ko could not match, and the first LPGA victory arrived for Meghan Khang.

How did the pair reach that stage in the tournament? The final round was filled with potholes for Khang. By the time she reached the 11th tee, she had zero birdies and three bogeys on her card. Ko was 2 under on the day and had closed the gap. 11 was massive in the outcome. Khang righted course with a birdie, while Ko gave one back with bogey. Khang played the final six in even par, while Ko grabbed two more birdies to force overtime, but oh, what might have been, had the 11th hole been different!

ICYMI, check out @megan_khang1023's highlights from the @cpkcwomensopen final round! ? pic.twitter.com/SJNXC6X4R4

— LPGA (@LPGA) August 28, 2023

Vijay Singh was always the golfer we thought would dominate the senior circuit. The former great on the PGA Tour is 10 years into his second career and has five victories to show. Admit it, weren’t you thinking the same thing? Veej is tall and fit, completely committed to his game, so how does he average a win, every other year? Another story for another column.

This week in Michigan, Singh and company faced the task of catching Paul Goydos, who held a tenuous lead with 18 holes remaining. Goydos had an unfortunate, five-putt on Sunday’s 17th hole, and closed with 71 for a T3 finish. Mounting a charge, in addition to Fiji’s finest, were Jeff Maggert, Tim Petrovic, and Stephen Ames. Ames and Petrovic reached 12-deep to tie Goydos, while Maggert went one better, with 69 for minus 13. Despite bogey at 15, Singh’s total for day three was 68 strokes, precisely what he needed to outdistance the field.

Leading by one ??@VijaySinghGolf makes his third birdie in a row after this beautiful left-hand-low chip on 14 @AllyChallenge pic.twitter.com/TWz25wt5HZ

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 27, 2023

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Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”In the announcement, commissioner Jay Monahan said adding Woods to the board was an attempt “to restore any lost trust or confidence that occurred as a result of the surprise announcement of our framework agreement” in June. According to Monahan, the negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to create a for-profit entity that would include the Tour, LIV Golf and the European circuit are ongoing, but Woods’ impact on the board has already been felt.”

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”The world No. 1 golfer still isn’t convinced that the Tour Championship, with its staggered-scoring format, is the best way for the PGA Tour to decide its season-long champion and winner of an $18 million bonus.”

Golf Monthly’s Mike Hall…”McIlroy spoke to the media before the tournament gets underway, and said he thinks it’s between 2022 winner Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm for the Player of the Year award, with the Spaniard just in front with one event to play.”

BBC report…”Rory McIlroy has said the absence of LIV players from Team Europe will have no bearing on their chances of reclaiming the Ryder Cup this year.”

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”As Brooks Koepka awaits a decision on whether he will be chosen for the U.S. Ryder Cup squad, world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler and Open Championship winner Brian Harman, who have already qualified for the team, say they wouldn’t mind having him as a teammate, even after he left the PGA Tour for the LIV Golf League in June 2022.”

Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee…”Majors notwithstanding, McIlroy is on yet another one of his career heaters. He comes into the Tour Championship in third place, starting three strokes behind leader Scottie Scheffler and very much a threat to capture his fourth FedEx Cup. (Another debate: whether it’s tougher to win a one-week major or a three- to four-tournament playoff.)”

Welcome to the only place on the internet you’ll see in-hand photos and WITBs for all 30 players in the Tour Championship! (Rory McIlroy’s bag pictured in the featured image)

A.J. Perez for Front Office Sports…”Since the framework agreement announced in June, progress has been slow toward finalizing an agreement that would officially end golf’s divide between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed LIV, two sources with knowledge of the negotiations told Front Office Sports.

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Sam Burns was spotted out on the East Lake practice green with a brand new Odyssey putter in hand. We asked Sam about the new putter and he informed us that he is not sure if the new putter will go into play this week, but we noticed it was the only flatstick in his bag.

The new putter is a #7 S head shape but with a different face insert and an all-black finish. The face insert looks different from anything Odyssey has in the current line and almost looks like it could be an old White Hot Pro or DFX insert.

A large sole plate is visible and is held to the body with a few screws, meaning there is probably some internal weight moved around. The sole also looks to have two large, round weights up near the face and a blank indent for a badge in between them. Sam’s putter has three site lines, one on the top and two running down the fangs that I personally think frame the ball well.

It is interesting that this new putter doesn’t seem to have Odyssey’s popular Stroke Lab shaft installed, instead, it looks like a standard black steel shaft. No comment from Odyssey on the details or tech in this new putter.

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