Hovland is your FedEx Cup Champ

To the Viktor go the spoils!!! As The Shank Show predicted in our last issue, the 25-year-old Norwegian sensation capped off a brilliant two weeks of golf by winning the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup at East Lake Golf Course. He shot a final round of 67 to finish at 27-under par (net remember!! He started at -8), five strokes ahead of his closest rival, Xander Schauffele. Hovland earned a whopping $18m bonus for his dominant performance, which also secured him full exemption on the PGA Tour through the 2028 season.

Hovland entered the season finale ranked second in the FedEx Cup, behind Scottie Scheffler, who had a two-shot advantage at the start of the tournament but was derailed by a triple bogey in round 1 on the tough par 3, 15th. Scheffler then faded badly to finish 16 shots behind Hovland, thanks primarily to his poor putting (was dead last in putting stats for the tournament). In contrast, Hovland posted a stunning 62 in the first round, and never looked back. He followed it up with rounds of 66, 66 and 67, making 28 birdies and only one bogey in 72 holes. The final day was a shootout with Viktor and Schauffele making 15 birdies between them in the final pairing, but Hovland wasn’t really troubled, making a clutch par putt on 14 before then birdieing the final 3 holes to slam the door shut.

Hovland’s win at East Lake was his second consecutive victory in the FedEx Cup playoffs, after he won the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields last week with a career-low round of 61. He also won the Memorial Tournament earlier this year and finished second at the PGA Championship. He now has six PGA Tour wins under his belt and is in white hot form as he heads to represent the Euro team in the Ryder Cup. In true Viktor style, he enjoyed some Chipotle as his victory dinner (a man of simple tastes despite winning $21.6m in the last 8 days).

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Aussie Matt Jones loses marathon playoff

Two-time Australian Open winner Matt Jones was involved in a thrilling playoff with Spaniyard Eugenio Chacarra at the St Andrews Bay Championship on the Asian Tour. The playoff lasted for 10 holes, the longest in the history of the Asian Tour, and was just one short of the all-time record for any tournament. Both players had finished on 19-under after birdieing the final hole in regulation, and then matched each other with birdies on the first five playoff holes.

Jones kept his hopes alive with a remarkable chip-in on the third extra hole, but his putting let him down when it counted most. On the 10th playoff hole, Jones missed a five-footer to keep his chances alive handing the win to the Spaniyard. It was Chacarra’s first 72-hole victory since turning professional last year, while Jones was looking for his first win since the 2021 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour. Jones said he threw away the golf tournament with his poor putting, while Chacarra praised his opponent for the record setting duel.

The St Andrews Bay Championship was dominated by LIV players who are enjoying a break from the LIV schedule, with the next event not until 22-24 September where the league will return to Rich Harvest Farms golf course near Chicago. Chacarra is a member of the LIV Fireballs team (captained by Sergio Garcia) whilst Jones is part of the all-Aussie team, Ripper GC. In addition to these guys finishing 1 and 2 for the week, other notable LIV players posted strong Top 10 performances including Mito Pereira (T5), Dean Burmester (7), Andy Ogletree and Wade Ormsby (T8).

Quick Bites

US Ryder Selections - The US team is set to announce its Ryder Cup team at 10am US time on Tuesday 29 August 2023 (early hours of Wednesday morning in Australia). We already know the locks - they are Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark. That leaves the 6 Captain’s picks which Zach Johnson has been tossing and turning over for the last few weeks. The Shank Show predicts ZJ will select the following players to round out the US team:

• Jordan Speith

• Justin Thomas

• Cameron Young

• Brooks Koepka

• Collin Morikawa

• Rickie Fowler

If ZJ goes with these 6 Captain’s picks, that will mean the likes of Bryson Dechambeau, Lucas Glover, Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley all miss out. Each of these guys have put up strong performances to justify their selection, especially Dechambeau, Bradley and Glover in recent weeks, but we think the “cliquey” nature of prior US teams will see the above 6 get the nod.

Walker Cup returns to The Home of Golf - For those not familiar with The Walker Cup, it is very similar to the Ryder Cup (i.e. USA vs. Great Britain & Ireland) but for Amateur golfers. This week, the Walker Cup will return to St Andrews, the home of golf, in 2023 for the 49th edition of the event. It will be the ninth time that the Old Course at St Andrews has hosted the Walker Cup, and the first time since 1975. The last time the Walker Cup was played in Scotland was in 2011, when Great Britain and Ireland won by a single point at Royal Aberdeen. For those interested in a deep dive into the course architecture of St Andrews, this recent article from Geoff Shackelford is worth a read./

Schedule for the Week

Your golfing schedule for the week, and how to watch is below:

• PGAT: No tournament now until 14 September 2023.

• DP World Tour: Omega European Masters - Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club (Switzerland), €2.5m purse, Thursday 31/8 to Sunday 3/9 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 9.30pm Thursday.

• LPGA: Portland Classic - Columbia Edgewater Country Club (Portland), $1.5m purse, Friday 1/9 to Monday 4/9 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 8.00am Friday.

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The lucky winner will receive a $50 Drummond Golf gift voucher and will be chosen randomly from the eligible entries on Wednesday 30 August 2023.

Now for our “Shank of the Week” - Rory with a hosel rocket at the Tour Championship.