A week after helping Europe recapture the Ryder Cup in Italy, Fitzpatrick won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland by three shots. What made this much different than his previous eight DP World Tour titles is that Matt and his mom, Susan, also partnered to win the pro-am portion of the event.

“Win with my Mum [feels even better than the individual win],” Fitzpatrick, who finished at 19 under par, told reporters at St. Andrews after. “Easily. Yeah, she’s been wanting to play all year and she’s been looking forward to it. To go out there and play as well as you did and as well as I did as well, it’s amazing to win together.”

Heavy rains caused a Monday finish and a tournament shortened to 54 holes. Normally, the pro-am is also 72 holes with a 54-hole cut after rounds at three different courses (St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns) like the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. But after waiting to play for two days, the Fitzpatricks fired a best-ball final-round score of 59 on the Old Course to win by five shots.

“I just helped guide her around,” said the 2022 U.S. Open champ, who shot a 66 on his own ball Monday. “One of my close friends, Josh, is on the bag, and he’s done great helping her out. We had a great week and really dovetailed well this week. I think last year we struggled on that front, every time I made a birdie, Mum would make a birdie and she’s been brilliant this week.”

A Fitzpatrick family success@MattFitz94 and his mum, Susan are the 2023 #dunhilllinks Team Championship winners ? pic.twitter.com/75rB8u9DQd

— Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (@dunhilllinks) October 9, 2023

Ryan Fox overcame the weather—and a hot dog mishap on Friday—to shoot 65 and finish T-2 in his title defence. Marcus Armitage and Matthew Southgate also finished at 16 under, three shots behind Fitzpatrick.

Matt Fitzpatrick, that is. Because Susan Fitzpatrick made sure everyone finished farther back in the team competition.

“I did play all right today,” Susan said. “I think it took me a few holes to get warmed up, but yeah, it’s just been sort of perfect golf conditions today. Really enjoyed it.”

Main image: Octavio Passos

The post Matt Fitzpatrick—and his mom!—win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Due to continued adverse weather that has caused chaos across the country, the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will be extended until Monday as heavy rain continued to lash the Home of Golf in Scotland.

Floods have hit the country due to heavy rain. Nicola Stewart

A statement from the DP World Tour said: “The format will remain the same, with the objective to play the third round over all three courses — the Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie Golf Links and Kingsbarns Golf Links on Sunday October 8 — and the fourth round at the Old Course on Monday.”

Tournament Director Mikael Eriksson said: “We always have a number of contingencies in the case of adverse weather conditions, and on this occasion the decision has been made alongside the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Committee to continue the tournament into Monday.

“We endeavour to play 72 holes if possible, and taking into consideration all factors, a Monday finished was deemed to be the preferred outcome. This will preserve the format of the tournament, with all competitors having the opportunity to play one round over each course, and the final round of both the Individual and Team events taking place at the Old Course after the third round cut.”

Main image: St Andrews. DP World Tour

The post Gotta love the Scottish weather… Dunhill goes into Monday due to rain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Englishman will take a one-shot lead into the weekend after birdieing four of his last five holes on day two at Kingsbarns in the three-course event.

After winning his first-ever point in the Ryder Cup, Fitzpatrick was on top again as he followed a 67 on day one at Carnoustie with a 64 to get to 13-under.

Spaniard Nacho Elvira and home favourite Grant Forrest were his nearest challengers, two shots clear of English duo Marcus Armitage and Matthew Southgate.

Playing together, Elvira and Forrest carded rounds of 66 and 67 respectively over the Old Course at St Andrews, while Armitage signed for a 68 at the Home of Golf, a score matched by Southgate at Kingsbarns.

Defending champion Ryan Fox, American Billy Horschel, Frenchman Matthieu Pavon and Finn Sami Välimäki were then at nine-under.

After the exertions of last week at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club and over courses which he has previously said do not suit him, Fitzpatrick could have perhaps been forgiven for not being at his best this week.

Last Friday: Won his first Ryder Cup point
This Friday: Leads the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship @MattFitz94 ? #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/YmjyzhzCoE

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 6, 2023

But he carded nine birdies and a single bogey just a week after the Marco Simone showdown with the US to put himself in pole position for DP World Tour win No. 9.

“I felt like we really enjoyed it out there,” said Fitzpatrick, who will now play the weekend at St Andrews. “We both like the golf course, Kingsbarns. Very relaxed atmosphere. Compared to Carnoustie, you can kind of coast a little bit more.

“Of the three, I do like Kingsbarns. I just think that’s the most enjoyable with the views, the hole designs. I like that one most. That’s the only one I felt any affinity to.

There was much jostling at the top of the leaderboard in the early stages of the day but it was playing partners Elvira and Forrest who were first to break out of the pack.

Forrest holed a 20-footer for eagle on the 14th but sandwiched it with bogeys on the 13th and 17th, while Elvira got up and down on the 14th and holed a six-footer on the 16th but made a bogey in between.

The duo then hit remarkable drives onto the green at the par-four 18th and Elvira holed from just five feet for eagle, with Forrest making a two-putt birdie from eight feet.

Elvira grabbed the lead as he put an approach to three feet at the second and holed a lengthy putt at the third but was soon joined by his playing partner who, after putting his second to five feet at the first, holed from 12 feet at the fourth and made a two-putt birdie on the par-five fifth.

It was Elvira in the lead again as he holed from 17 feet at the sixth but Forrest made a putt of similar length on the next before they both had company at 12-under in the form of Fitzpatrick.

The 2022 US Open champion took advantage of the par-five 12th, hit a brilliant tee-shot into the par-three 15th and then played a stunning recovery at the par-five 16th after two ragged shots.

A gain on the first was then followed by a two-putt birdie on the third and Fitzpatrick followed an approach to 12 feet at the fifth with another two-putt birdie after driving the green at the par-four sixth to join the lead.

A poor tee-shot at the seventh brought a bogey but the 29-year-old holed an excellent right-to-lefter from 15 feet at the next before getting up and down on the par-five ninth to lead the way.

Armitage made five birdies and a single bogey in his round, while Southgate had six birdies and a bogey in 16 holes before some late drama.

He was just one off the lead but recorded a triple-bogey on the par-three eighth before holing a huge eagle putt on the ninth to bounce back up the leaderboard.

Pavon signed for a 66 at St Andrews, one shot less than Välimäki at the same venue, while Fox carded a 69 at Kingsbarns, where Horschel recorded a 70.

German Nick Bachem, Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, Spaniard Alejandro del Rey, Dutchman Daan Huizing, American Peter Uihlein and England’s Matt Wallace were at eight-under.

Main image: DP World Tour

The post After Ryder Cup exertions, Matt Fitzpatrick surges at Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

As you might expect, all three had nothing but good things to say about the Italian Job the European team pulled off last week. By way of example, Fitzpatrick was especially enthusiastic. During his press conference, the former US Open winner used the word “special” five times. “Amazing” came up twice. There were four “greats.” But, disappointingly perhaps, only one “fantastic” and a lone “surreal.”

Fleetwood kept that level of euphoria going, maybe even more so. The man who scored the clinching point on Sunday afternoon was his usual eloquent self during his presser, but the temptation to enthuse was never far away. The score for the 30-year-old Englishman came out at five “specials,” an amazing 11 “amazings,” four “greats” and, like Fitzpatrick, one “surreal.”

As for MacIntyre, the young Scot can perhaps be forgiven the endearing level of giddiness he brought to the proceedings. Unbeaten in his three matches in Italy, the Ryder Cup rookie has every right to look back on his debut with nothing but unadulterated pleasure. His vocabulary varied a little from his older teammates, but the message was the same. For the record, there were two “greats,” three “brilliants,” one “incredible” and seven “dreams.”

Still, beyond the inevitable hyperbole, each player was instantly able to identify particular moments of individual pleasure amid the emphasis on team play that is the essence of the Ryder Cup. Fitzpatrick was especially touched by something his fourball partner, Rory McIlroy, said to him in the immediate aftermath of the pair’s first day 5&3 fourball victory over Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. In his third Ryder Cup, this was Fitzpatrick’s first point.

“The best moment of the week for me was winning my first point with Rory,” he said. “We hugged at the end and said: ‘Well done.’ Then he told me that he was glad that it was with him that I got that first point. For me, that was so special. Especially as I had played so well. For the first seven holes I didn’t miss a shot.”

That is not to say Fitzpatrick was 100 per cent satisfied with his own performance. Although at pains to emphasise that winning as a team trumps all, the 29-year-old Englishman admitted to mixed feelings when it came to his overall input to the common cause. Advice from a fellow Yorkshireman, England Test cricketer, Joe Root, helped.

Robert MacIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood pose for a photograph on the first tee in front of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews clubhouse prior to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. David Cannon

“It’s a weird feeling, being part of a team and not necessarily feeling like you contribute,” Fitzpatrick said. “I look back at my last two Ryder Cups. I didn’t contribute, but we lost. I can accept that more than last week when it was almost like you can’t celebrate as much because you’ve not done as much. But Joe gave me some great advice. You have to understand it’s about the team. I know it’s definitely not about myself, it’s about us as a team and that’s why we do so well. But it was interesting emotionally for me. It was obviously disappointing to not do better for myself, but obviously absolutely delighted to win.”

Unsurprisingly, Fleetwood had no hesitation in identifying the highlight of his week. When you are fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to score the match-clinching point, anything else has to be almost irrelevant.

“All that I was thinking at the time was just what an amazing opportunity it was,” he said. “You practise your whole life and all of a sudden, me, Tommy Fleetwood from Southport is there with one good shot [from the 16th tee] to win the Ryder Cup. I still can’t believe it went straight to be honest. But I was very happy when I looked up and saw where the ball was heading. I couldn’t really see where the ball landed. The sun shines at you, so all you have to do is wait for what the noise is going to be in the crowd. It was on the green and I was like: ‘Yeah, that will do.’”

As for MacIntyre, the Scot gave much credit to the steady improvement he saw in his own performance to his fourball partner, Justin Rose. Over the three games from which he emerged unbeaten, MacIntyre went from pretty awful to acceptable to eventually playing with some aplomb.

“Right from the first tee shot on the Friday, Justin saw I was nervous,” MacIntyre said. “I was almost crying walking off the range. But when we had done all the [pre-match] pictures and all that, he put his arm around me. ‘Everything is going to be all right. This will be over in two-and-a-half minutes,’ he said. He was brilliant. He’s so experienced. He kept me calm. He trusted me. He believed in me. Even though I was terrible that day.

“Then Saturday, I was more solid. I was never out of a hole. I was never making a disaster. I was almost allowing him to be more aggressive because he was playing so good. I stood on 13th green and he was trying to help me read the putt. I was like: ‘Justin, it’s all right. I got this one.’ And once I holed that, he put his arm around me and was like, that’s what it’s all about. He was incredible the whole week.”

Indeed. But every member of the European team was other things, too. Special, amazing, great, fantastic, surreal, brilliant and incredible all come immediately to minds.

Main image: Andrew Redington

The post It’s time to come down from the high of winning the Ryder Cup. But this trio is going to take it slowly appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Every player is motivated to win as many games as possible. For the team, yes. But also for themselves. The inherent selfishness and ego-massaging that is part of every elite golfer’s make-up does not magically disappear for a week every two years, then reappear a week later.

Still, beyond that inherent truth, every player is different in the sense that they all have something within their souls driving them on in what is a special event for all concerned. This this week surely no one has more incentive to perform close to his best than Matt Fitzpatrick. In what will be his third Ryder Cup, the search continues for the former US Amateur and Open champion’s first point.

In 2016 at Hazeltine, a fresh-faced Fitzpatrick played twice in Europe’s losing cause. First, the now 29-year-old Englishman went down 3&2 to Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka in the company of Henrik Stenson. The singles didn’t go any better, Fitzpatrick losing 4&3 to Dustin Johnson.

“Looking back, you could argue that I probably wasn’t necessarily ready for 2016,” he admitted. “I was still really young. I wasn’t obviously the longest back then. I was pretty short. There’s quite a lot of technical difference in my swing between now and then as well. As an experience, I only played one foursomes, and obviously the singles, so that was disappointing. You build it up to be this amazing thing that you wanted to be part of, thinking that you’ll get a real good go at it. But I never did, really. Which is obviously disappointing.

“At the same time, the course set-up that week was just not in my favour at all,” he continued. “It was just an experience that wasn’t necessarily as good as you would have dreamt it to be. But it’s what you learn from.”

Five years later, Fitzpatrick was back, at Whistling Straits. Clearly a better player than first time round, he still lost all of the three games in which he was involved. Alongside Lee Westwood, he lost twice in the foursomes, before going down on the 18th green to Daniel Berger in what was the last of the singles matches on the course. Long after the destination of the trophy had been decided, it was a bizarre experience for both players.

“The overall match was one-sided,” said Fitzpatrick. “It was great, though, because [caddie] Billy [Foster] and Daniel Berger’s caddie at the time just took every flag. I’m sure they need up with the most mementos because nobody really cared. I was talking to Daniel as we were going around, and we were kind of saying: ‘It’s pretty dead.’ The match didn’t really have any significance by the time we got to maybe the 10th or 12th hole. It was a little bit odd.”

Matt Fitzpatrick stands with teammate Henrik Stenson as they prepare to play a foursomes match against Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka in the 2016 Ryder Cup. Jamie Squire

Odd and frustrating. Fitzpatrick is from Yorkshire, a county not renowned for the raising of shrinking violets. And the world. No. 8 is typical of the breed. He may still look young and innocent as he approaches his 30th birthday, but Fitzpatrick is as tough as the steel they make in his hometown of Sheffield. And he’s angry. That Ryder Cup record rankles, although to see just how much you have to read between the lines a little this week. Like his teammates, Fitzpatrick is singing along from the “we are team” hymn sheet.

“I want to win a point, of course,” he said. “But I really would rather be on a winning team. There’s no doubt about that. I think that is what’s been so great about the last couple of experiences. Obviously, we’ve not been on the right end of the result. But just being part of the European team and being amongst the guys that I play with week in, week out makes the Ryder Cup so special for me.”

Yes, yes. But here’s the tip-off as to the level of desire Fitzpatrick is feeling. In neither of his two previous Ryder Cups did he play a fourball match. And that is an itch he clearly wishes to scratch, one he clearly thinks will allow him to show his true worth to the team.

“I’m convinced you need to play a fourball match, to be able to play your own ball, to experience the pressure of playing the full round,” he said. “Not just hitting half the shots. I think that’s really important.”

Indeed. And so is Fitzpatrick. For Europe to win back the Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Country Club, the likelihood is that he will have to make a contribution. The smart money says he will. Unlike 2016 and 2021, Fitzpatrick arrived in Italy as a major champion.

“That does a world of good,” he acknowledged. “I definitely feel much more like I belong. I’ve had that success at the highest level, so I will always have the feeling I can repeat it. Just having that level of confidence is a big help.”

Confidence and motivation. It’s a powerful combination.

Main image: Matt Fitzpatrick plays a shot from a bunker during a practice round prior to the 2023 Ryder Cup. Ross Kinnaird

The post Ryder Cup 2023: Matt Fitzpatrick has yet to win a point for Europe, and you can bet that’s huge motivation appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Fitzpatrick qualified alongside Hatton and Hovland on the World Points List following his tied third finish in the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. The 2022 U.S. Open champion will play in the Ryder Cup for the third time at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, from September 29 – October 1, 2023, adding a home appearance to his previous outings in the United States in 2016 and 2021.

Scotsman MacIntyre will make his debut in the biennial contest, qualifying via the European Points List alongside McIlroy and Rahm. He will tee it up at Marco Simone as part of Team Europe one year on from securing his second DP World Tour title at the Rome venue.

Captain Donald said: “There are many major milestones in every Ryder Cup journey but there is no question that finalising the automatic qualifiers for Team Europe is most definitely one of them.

“These six players have been standout performers throughout the qualification period and I am delighted to welcome each and every one of them officially to the 2023 team.”

McIlroy and Rahm were the first players to book their places for the first Ryder Cup to be played in Italy, with four-time Major winner and World Number Two McIlroy arriving for his seventh consecutive Ryder Cup appearance as the most experienced of the European qualifiers.

The Northern Irishman has been part of every edition of golf’s greatest team contest since his debut in 2010 – and has been on the winning side four times – wrapping up his latest appearance with the help of Rolex Series victories in Dubai and Scotland.

World Number Three Rahm is set to make his third appearance for Team Europe at Marco Simone, in the year in which he secured his second Major victory at Augusta National in April.

The Spaniard was part of Thomas Bjørn’s victorious team at Le Golf National in 2018, and produced a standout performance for Europe in Whistling Straits three years later, contributing 3.5 points from five matches.

FedEx Cup Champion Hovland was the next to secure his place in Captain Donald’s side, and the 25-year-old is set for a home appearance after making history as the first Norwegian to play in the Ryder Cup two years ago.

Hatton became the final player to wrap up a spot before this week’s final qualification event in Switzerland. The Englishman will make his third successive appearance and will be aiming for a second victory on home soil after making his debut in Paris in 2018.

Donald will complete his 12-player team when he announces his six Captain’s Picks at 2pm (BST) on Monday September 4.

The Captain’s Picks Show will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, Golf Channel in the US and on Ryder Cup Europe’s platforms worldwide.

The post Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre complete six automatic Team Europe qualifiers appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Hunting a hat-trick of titles, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick got his Omega European Masters 2023 campaign off to a perfect start at Crans-sur-Sierre in the Swiss Alps on Thursday, posting a bogey-free 63 to take a share of the lead at seven-under alongside countryman Eddie Pepperell, Dane John Axelsen, Spaniard Nacho Elvira, Malaysia’s Gavin Green and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.

Swede Ludvig Aberg, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson and German Yannik Paul were a shot off the lead, with more on the line than just the trophy this week in the final qualifying event for the European Ryder Cup team.

Fitzpatrick needs to finish tied seventh or better to qualify via the World Points List, while Paul will make the team via the European Points List with a win, although he could be heading to Rome with a a tie for third with two others or better.

Axelsen, Elvira, Green and Kawamura all joined Fitzpatrick with blemish-free cards, while Pepperell made a single bogey on a course softened by rain with preferred lies in place.

Fitzpatrick missed the cut on his debut at this event in 2014 but then finished second and seventh in the next two editions before claiming the title back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.

He tied for 69th on his next trip up the mountains but was very much back to his brilliant best as he returned for the first time in four years and first time since he became a Major Champion at the 2022 US Open.

“I played brilliant,” he said. “Only hit two bad shots, one I got away with and one I got up and down, so that’s as good as I’ve played for a while.”

He got off to a stunning start with an approach to tap-in range at the first and then drove the narrow, par-four sixth to set up a two-putt birdie and did similar at the next, leaving his tee-shot at the side of the green and getting down in two for another gain.

His tee-shot forced him to lay-up at the par-five ninth but he still made his birdie before adding another at the next with an approach to four feet.

A two-putt gain at the par-five 14th had him within one of the leading group and he joined it thanks to a tee-shot to five feet at the par-three 16th.

Aberg had set the very early pace as he birdied five of his first six holes and while he would add another in his bogey-free effort, it was Elvira who set the clubhouse target.

The 36-year-old followed a smart approach at the first with long putts at the third and fifth before he drove up to the front of the seventh, left himself 13 feet at the 12th, got up and down at the 14th and holed another lengthy putt on the last.

Green then joined him as he left himself a flick in to the fifth and made a hat-trick of gains from the seventh to turn in 31. He hit a fine tee-shot at the 13th, took advantage of the par-five 15th and holed a 30-footer on the 17th to hit the summit.

Starting on the tenth, Axelsen left himself little work to do with his approach to his opener and then made the most of the 14th and 15th before hitting a smart tee-shot into the 16th. An tee-shot to tap-in range at the seventh had him within one and he completed the par-five set on the ninth.

It looked for a long time that we would have a leading trio but Kawamura was the first to hit the summit of the afternoon starters.

He made the most of the 14th and hit a nice approach into the 18th but really came to life on his second nine, holing a long putt at the third, an eight-footer at the fifth, driving the seventh, putting his tee-shot to tap-in range at the eighth and taking advantage of the ninth.

Pepperell put approaches inside five feet on the tenth and 12th and followed gains at the back-nine’s two par-fives with a tee-shot to inside ten feet on the 16th.

His only bogey of the day came on the first but more stunning iron play left him tap-ins on the fifth and sixth and he birdied the ninth after laying up.

Paul had an eagle on the 15th, five birdies and a bogey in his round, while Jamieson was blemish-free, making four birdies in a row from the 15th.

There was a group of nine players at five under including 59-year-old 2010 champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Fitzpatrick’s brother Alex.

The post Fitzpatrick in six-way tie at the summit in Swiss mountains appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

For all the jockeying for position over 72 holes at Olympia Fields Country Club, for all the drama as players moved in and out of the top 30 in the FedEx Cup points standings, only one player — Matt Fitzpatrick — was able to play his way into the Tour Championship on Sunday.

Fitzpatrick had hoped for more, of course, after beginning the final round of the BMW Championship tied atop the leaderboard with World No 1 Scottie Scheffler. He matched Scheffler with a closing four-under 66, but the Englishman couldn’t counter the magnificent charge of Viktor Hovland, who fired a course-record 61. Fitzpatrick had to settle for joint second place with Scheffler at 15-under 265. Nevertheless, the former U.S. Open winner moved up 30 spots and heads to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta in 10th place in the standings.

“Yeah, played great. Can’t do anything about 61,” the Englishman said. “For me, just really pleased again that I played really well final round in contention with world No. 1, and I didn’t lose it. Someone else came from behind and won it. I feel like my game is definitely in better shape than it was, and yeah, looking forward to getting to next week and working on it some more, and hopefully still progressing.”
With a move up, one player had to be pushed out, and that was Atlanta native Chris Kirk, who suffered a miserable finish with bogeys on three of his last six holes, including the 18th. Kirk, winner for the first time in eight years at the Honda Classic in March, dropped from 29th to 33rd after a closing one-over 71.

“I’m not sure how I feel about it. I hit two of the best shots [approaches] of the day the last two holes and went par, bogey,” said Kirk after finishing T-29 at two-under 278. “I’d like to have one more week, but I feel like I’ve had enough golf for the next couple of months.”

Scheffler’s only consolation on the day was overtaking Jon Rahm for the top spot at East Lake, the first time in FedEx Cup playoff history that a player enters the Tour Championship with the lead in back-to-back years. He’ll start the tournament at 10-under par and with a two-stroke advantage over Hovland.

Rory McIlroy, the defending champion and the only three-time winner of the FedEx Cup, will start third and three shots behind Scheffler at seven-under in the staggered-start format. He was seventh a year ago and six shots behind Scheffler before a final-day rally.

“I’m playing great tee to green, the best I’ve played in a long time,” McIlroy said after finishing fourth with a closing 66 on the North Course while paired with Hovland. “Going to have to drive the ball probably a little straighter, but I felt like I found something on the back nine there today to go into next week. but overall I’m in a really good position going into next week, so excited for it.”

Rounding out the top five in the FedEx Cup standings are Rahm, who will start at six-under par, and Lucas Glover, who begins at five-under. Fitzpatrick is in a group with five others who will be staked to a score of four-under.

No fewer than six players were in the hunt for the final few berths in the playoff finale, with Sepp Straka perhaps coming up with the most clutch performance, carding a 66 despite a bogey on the 72nd hole. His two-over 282 left him T-37, but he stayed inside the bubble for the playoff finale in 30th place.

“You watch it, but ultimately it doesn’t really matter because most of it’s out of your control anyway,” said the 30-year-old Austrian native, who had booked two flights out of Chicago, one to Atlanta and one going on home to Birmingham, Ala. “You’ve just got to try to play a good round of golf and see where you end up.”

Straka, Jordan Spieth and Emiliano Grillo began the week inside the top 30 but found themselves projected outside the top 30 after 54 holes only to bounce back to the plus side on Sunday.

Grillo carded a 67, enough to finish T-31 at even-par 280 and qualified in 27th position. Despite bogeys on his final two holes, Spieth advanced. He had dropped as far down as 32 in the projections when he signed for a 71 before getting help from 2018 FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose and Denny McCarthy, who were inside the number as the final round began but couldn’t keep it. Spieth finished T-34 at one-over 281.

Sahith Theegala also figured in the matrix of things, giving himself hope with three straight birdies starting at the par-5 15th, bit then the second-year tour player bogeyed the last for a 67 and 274 total, tied for 15th, which left him in that agonising 31st position, nine points behind Straka.

Rose had played his way in from 34th at the outset of the week with middle rounds of 65 and 68 and then fell away with 73-276, placing T-22. McCarthy was projected in at No. 30 when his final round began, but his even-par 70 wasn’t enough to keep it, ending up 33rd with his T-10 finish at 273.

Here’s the field for East Lake and where they’ll all start on Thursday.
Scottie Scheffler (-10)
Viktor Hovland (-8)
Rory McIlroy (-7)
Jon Rahm (-6)
Lucas Glover (-5)
Max Homa (-4)
Patrick Cantlay (-4)
Brian Harman (-4)
Wyndham Clark (-4)
Matt Fitzpatrick (-4)
Tommy Fleetwood (-3)
Russell Henley (-3)
Keegan Bradley (-3)
Rickie Fowler (-3)
Xander Schauffele (-3)
Tom Kim (-2)
Sungjae Im (-2)
Tony Finau (-2)
Corey Conners (-2)
Si Woo Kim (-2)
Taylor Moore (-1)
Nick Taylor (-1)
Adam Schenk (-1)
Collin Morikawa (-1)
Jason Day (-1)
Sam Burns (E)
Emiliano Grillo (E)
Tyrrell Hatton (E)
Jordan Spieth (E)
Sepp Straka (E)
FedEx Cup payouts

How much each player will make based on their finish at the Tour Championship:
1. $18,000,000
2. $6,500,000
3. $5,000,000
4. $4,000,000
5. $3,000,000
6. $2,500,000
7. $2,000,000
8. $1,500,000
9. $1,250,000
10. $1,000,000
11. $950,000
12. $900,000
13. $850,000
14. $800,000
15. $760,000
16. $720,000
17. $700,000
18. $680,000
19. $660,000
20. $640,000
21. $620,000
22. $600,000
23. $580,000
24. $565,000
25. $550,000
26. $540,000
27. $530,000
28. $520,000
29. $510,000
30. $500,000

The post Who’s in, who’s out at the 2023 Tour Championship: All 30 qualifiers and where they start at East Lake appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

As he navigated the short staircase to the podium for his post-round press conference on Sunday at the BMW Championship, Viktor Hovland tripped slightly, caught himself and laughed at his own clumsiness. It was about the only misstep he made during a record-setting afternoon defined by one of the most remarkable feats of clutch scoring in the 2023 golf season.

Having shown steady growth as an all-around golfer since turning professional four years ago, Hovland took a giant leap forward as a scary force to be reckoned with by shooting a course-record nine-under 61 at Olympia Fields to win the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The performance, fueled by an inspired surge of ball-striking, included a back-nine 28 on the North Course featuring seven birdies, none longer than 13 feet.

The incomparable finish made a hard-luck loser of Scottie Scheffler, who led for much of the final round but could not come up with the requisite answer as Hovland stormed to a two-stroke victory. Scheffler, who closed with a 66, had to settle for his 13th top-five finish of the season that includes a pair of wins, one of them the Players Championship.

“To win at a place like this and amongst the best players in the world, it’s pretty cool,” Hovland said after finishing at 17-under 263. “And to do it that way, making seven birdies the last nine holes, and yeah, to beat those guys, that was pretty cool.”

The 25-year-old Norwegian was the coolest of them all on a sweltering afternoon, eclipsing by one the course record Max Homa and Sam Burns had posted in previous rounds. Hovland established a record for low score in a FedEx Cup playoff event as well as his career low while winning his fifth PGA Tour title and second this year to go with his victory in the Memorial Tournament.

Hovland moves on to the Tour Championship in Atlanta ranked second in the season-long FedEx Cup standings behind Scheffler and will begin the playoff finale two shots behind the World No. 1 player in the staggered-start format. He remains fifth in the Official World Golf Ranking. For now.

Matt Fitzpatrick, who shared the 54-hole lead with Scheffler, had two late birdies and managed to tie Scheffler for second at 15-under 265. When he saw Hovland outside the scoring room, he grabbed his European Ryder Cup teammate by the shoulders and said something that made him burst out laughing.

“I said he was a little [expletive],” Fitzpatrick said. Actually, he was very big.

The moment Viktor Hovland became a winner @BMWChamps ? pic.twitter.com/megiBh3ZSk

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 21, 2023

For much of the day, Scheffler appeared unstoppable, immediately separating himself from Fitzpatrick and keeping his nose ahead throughout the tense afternoon by going five-under through 13 holes. But Hovland, who began the final round three behind, just kept coming with an inward nine of eight 3s and a birdie at the par-5 15th that cut a four-shot deficit at the turn to one. But putting, which has held Scheffler back on many occasions this season, again became his undoing.

After failing to birdie 15, Scheffler missed a seven-footer for birdie at 16, leaving the door open, not that Hovland was obliged to knock it down anyway. A 9-iron to eight feet at 17 and a pitching wedge to six feet at 18 set up the birdies he needed to leapfrog the Texan. When Scheffler three-putted the 17th from 26 feet, the dye was cast. Scheffler added a sixth career runner-up finish to go with six career wins.

“Yeah, pretty amazing round of golf to win this tournament like that,” said Scheffler, who for the second year in a row will enter the Tour Championship as the leader. “I’m just a bit frustrated. I think that would be the way to describe it. I mean, Viktor went out and really just beat me today and played a fantastic round. I can hold my head high and just … I did my best out there today and fought hard. Just ultimately came up a couple shots short.”

Hovland, who didn’t miss a cut this year and finished in the top 20 in all four majors, won the Memorial in large part thanks to a blossoming short game. At Olympia Fields, he had everything going, and that was, perhaps, the most pleasing aspect of the week … other than the $3.6 million pay day. He didn’t lead in any single strokes-gained discipline, but he ranked among the top four across the board.

“If you take everything into account,” he said, “it’s just putting all of that together, and then being clutch at the right times at Memorial and obviously this week and having a chance to contend in those major championships, I think I’ve taken a big step this year compared to other years.”

A course-record 61 for the win! ?

Viktor Hovland is victorious @BMWChamps with a thrilling Sunday performance!#FedExCup pic.twitter.com/8L6WLiPJxa

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2023

Of course, there’s one more step to take, at least this year. Hovland, who has reached the Tour Championship in each of his four seasons on tour, has momentum and a prime seeding as he goes for the $18 million bonus that comes with winning the FedEx Cup. A long season is wearing on all 30 qualifiers to East Lake, but Hovland will go there with a definite spring in his step.

“Well, I’m about to pass out right now,” Hovland said, alluding to the toll the gruelling final round had on him. “But no, just a good night’s sleep, and we’re right back at it next week at East Lake. I’m sure it’ll be hot, and we’ll be sweating a lot, so I’m definitely feeling that it’s been a lot of golf, but it seems like the more I’ve played recently, I seem to play better. Just need to lean into that and hopefully we have another good week.”

If nothing else, he’s proven eminently capable.

The post Unpacking BMW winner Viktor Hovland’s mind-bending final round at Olympia Fields appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A late burst of crazy piled on top of some exceptional golf on a windy Saturday at Olympia Fields Country Club contributed to a leaderboard top-heavy with players who own PGA Tour victories this season.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who last year saw his FedEx Cup title hopes slip away to Rory McIlroy on the final day of the Tour Championship, appears poised to return to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta as the top seed after grabbing a share of the 54-hole lead in the BMW Championship. Scheffler’s six-under 64 on the North Course propelled the Texan to 11-under 199, tied with Matt Fitzpatrick who shot a 66 that included a bizarre bogey on the par-4 home hole.

Fitzpatrick pulled his second shot from a right fairway bunker across into the left rough near the gallery where a marshal allegedly moved Fitzpatrick’s ball by stepping near it or slightly on it, which adversely affected the lie.

“Like [he] didn’t fully stand on it, but definitely brushed it because you could see the grass was completely moved,” said Fitzpatrick, who chopped his ball out short of the green and got up and down for bogey. “It definitely sat further down than when I got there. They didn’t see it, and they can’t confirm that, so I wasn’t going to be like … I wasn’t going to fight for it, really.”

The fight comes on Sunday, with a posse in pursuit that includes Open Championship winner Brian Harman just one stroke back after a 67. Second-round leader Max Homa recovered from a triple-bogey on the seventh hole to shoot 71 to come in at 201. His day included the conversion of a five-foot birdie putt at the 17th while a fan shouted at him to “pull it” as he was in the midst of his stroke.

“There was a probably drunk, I hope for his case, or else he’s just the biggest loser there is,” Homa said, “but he was cheering and yelling at Chris [Kirk] for missing his putt short, and he kept yelling that he had … one of them had $3 for me to make mine, and I got to the back of my backstroke, and he yelled: ‘Pull it’ pretty loud, and I made it right in the middle.”

Homa and his caddie, Joe Greiner, yelled back at the man as they exited the green.

McIlroy, ranked second in the world and three-time winner of the FedEx Cup, and Viktor Hovland, who is fifth in the world, are tied at 202 after 67 and 65, respectively. Sam Burns leads a large group at seven-under 203 after tying Homa’s day-old course record with a 62.

Driver off the deck ?

This tracer from Scottie Scheffler is ridiculous! pic.twitter.com/Usz1gAgLLr

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 19, 2023

Scheffler, who has two wins this season, including the Players in March, has been on the cusp of a monster season in which he has finished in the top five 12 times. From his first win of the year at the WM Phoenix Open until his T-23 at the British Open, Scheffler didn’t finish worse than T-12.

The ball-striking maven, who leads the field in strokes gained/off the tee, tee to green and approach the green, finally got an assist from his putter, building confidence from one-putting the first five greens.

“It’s definitely been fun,” Scheffler, 27, said of his consistency. “I like being in contention.

It’s why I practise as hard as I do. On the flipside of it, yeah, it’s very draining, especially with this year, I felt like I’ve … this is now the second year where I’ve really been in the spotlight a lot, and yeah, I’d say there’s definitely challenges to it.”

And disappointments. Scheffler, who could become the first player to enter the Tour Championship first in the FedEx Cup standings two years in a row, knows he hasn’t capitalised on his extraordinary tee-to-green performance this year.

“I’m going to look back on my career and I’m going to think I could have nabbed way more tournaments than I’ll end up with. It doesn’t matter if I won eight times this year or if I won twice or none. There’s always more out there,” he said. “You’re never fully satisfied with the results. Tiger Woods won I think 83 times [82 actually], and if you asked him, I’m sure he’s trying to think about getting No. 84. It’s never enough.”

Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, has been disappointed in his season a bit, too, after beating Jordan Spieth in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage. He entered the second FedEx Cup playoff event 40th in the points standings and needing a strong showing to qualify for the Tour Championship. So far, so good for East Lake and maybe salvaging his year.

Tree? What tree? ?@MattFitz94 grabs the solo lead in sensational fashion @BMWChamps. pic.twitter.com/CvkjcuexKh

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 19, 2023

“Pretty high, yeah. Pretty high, definitely,” Fitzpatrick said of his frustration level this season, especially with a driver that has been holding him back. “After winning Harbour Town, I felt I kind of got a lot more out of my irons all of a sudden in two weeks at Augusta and Harbour Town. They just felt so much better than they had been probably since the US Open. I felt I could really kick on then.

“I’d probably say it wouldn’t match where my expectations of myself can be.”

At the lower end of the battle for the top 30 and a berth in the Tour Championship, Denny McCarthy, after a 65, clings to the last spot. He is one of three players to move from outside the qualifying number to a potential date at East Lake in Atlanta along with Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose, who shot 68 on Saturday and has moved up six places to 26th.

Jordan Spieth, Emiliano Grillo and Sepp Straka occupy places 31-33, respectively, to fall outside the top 30 with 18 holes potentially left of their season.

The post Wild final round on tap at BMW, with clustered leaderboard and Tour Championship implications appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.