Hoblan shot a 7-under 63 with seven birdies without a bogey in the final fourth round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club (par 70, 7,346 yards) in Atlanta, Georgia, on the 28th (Korea Standard Time).
Hoblan, who recorded a total of 27-under 261, won the championship by five strokes over second-place Xander Shoplay of the U.S., becoming the main character of the $18 million bonus (about 23.85 billion won) given to the FedEx Cup playoff champion of the season.
The Tour Championship is the final match of the season, in which only 30 players in the FedEx Cup points standings, converted from the season’s performance to the score, and the winner of the tournament will be the FedEx Cup champion of the season.
In order to match the winner of the tournament with the FedEx Cup champion, “bonus batting” is applied depending on the ranking until the BMW Championship, so the number of strokes players start the tournament is different. The first place in the FedEx Cup rankings starts the first round at 10-under, and the second place starts at 8-under.
Hoblan finished second in the FedEx Cup until the BMW Championship, starting the tournament at 8-under and reducing 19 strokes in four days. After taking the lead in the first and second rounds, he cut four shots in the third round, becoming the sole leader, six shots ahead of second-place Shoplay, and also defended on the last day.
Hoblan, who was born in September 1997 and turns 26 next month, made his debut on the PGA Tour in the 2019-2020 season and became the first playoff champion in his fourth year.
Hovlan, who won the title of the first-ever PGA Tour winner as a Norwegian player at the 2020 Puerto Rico Open, also made his name as Norway’s first PGA Tour FedEx Cup champion.
Hovlan won his sixth career title by winning the PGA Tour for the second consecutive week following the BMW Championship in the second round of the playoffs last week. Having won three games this year alone, including the Memorial Tournament in June, he raised his world ranking one notch from last week to fourth place.
In the final round, which was delayed by about an hour and 50 minutes due to bad weather, Hoblan dropped a birdie putt nearly 5m on the first hole (par 4), and continued his momentum with birdies on the fourth and sixth holes in a row. Shoplay, who played together, scored five birdies in the first half, making a five-shot difference.
In the second half, while Hoblan was unable to reduce the number of strokes, Shoplay narrowed the gap to three strokes by making birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, making the game even fiercer.
Hoblan was in crisis with more than 7m of par putt left on the 14th hole (par 4), but Shoplay finished with a par first and then clenched his fist in a burdensome situation.
In the next hole (par 3), Shoplay faced a birdie opportunity of about 4.5m, which was shorter than Hoblan, but the putt was short, so the victory tilted toward Hoblan.
In the 16th hole (par 4), Shoplay’s birdie putt was weak, while Hoblan added a birdie and drove a wedge. Hoblan celebrated his 17th (par 4) and 18th holes (par 5) perfectly with birdies.
Hoblan said, “I think I’ve taken a lot of steps this season. “I’ve challenged more major tournaments, won on American soil, won big tournaments,” he said, expressing joy, “It’s unrealistic to be here playing my best golf for the past two weeks.”
“Before I started today, I planned to record a lot of par and let Shoplay follow me, but Shoplay chased me early and had to change my plan a little,” he said. “What Shoplay did today was very special and stressful than I expected.”
Shopley was one step short of the champion, but he showed a strong side in the tournament after finishing second in 2019 and 2020, tied for fifth in 2021, and fourth last year. On this day, Shoplay cut eight strokes without a bogey. The second-place bonus is $6.5 million.
Wyndham Clark (USA) came in third (16 under par), last season’s FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) came in fourth (14 under par), and Patrick Cantlay (USA) came in fifth (13 under par).
Scotty Schaeffler (U.S.), the world’s No. 1 player in the FedEx Cup until the second round of the playoffs, tied for sixth (11 under par) without keeping his No. 1 spot in the final match following last season.
Kim Joo-hyung and Kim Si-woo tied for 20th with a total of 6 under par, while Lim Sung-jae finished 24th (3 under par).
Until the second round of the playoffs, Kim Joo-hyung started the tournament with two under par, with 16th place in the FedEx Cup, 17th place in Lim Sung-jae, and 20th place in Kim Si-woo.
Kim Joo-hyung and Kim Si-woo received $620,000 in bonus prize money and Lim Sung-jae received $565,000.
Taylor Moore of the U.S. and Emiliano Grillo of the U.S., who are tied for 29th place, also took $505,000 in bonuses in this tournament. 토토사이트