Viktor does it again🏌️‍♂️

What a day! Let’s hop right in.

1. Viktor Hovland wins the Tour Championship (and 💰💰💰)

2. Shadow Leaderboard

Here’s what scores would have looked without the Tour Championship’s staggered start:

Of note: The Official World Golf Ranking actually goes by this “shadow leaderboard” for the Tour Championship, so this week will count as an OWGR win (T1) for both Hovland and Xander.

• Hovland is now the fourth ranked player in the world, while Xander remains number six.

3. Viktory!

Viktor Hovland headed into Sunday six shots clear of his nearest competitor, Xander Scahuffele.

• It was the same sized lead Scottie Scheffler gave up to Rory McIlroy in the final round of the Tour Championship last year.

• But from the start, Hovland looked sharp, sinking a 15’ 10” putt for birdie at the 1st hole and a 15’ 6” putt for par at the 2nd.

• On the 470 yard par 4 4th, Hovland almost canned his second shot from the fairway. Instead, he settled for birdie.

Xander did his best to keep things interesting, firing a five-under 30 on the front nine.

• But after Hovland drained a 23’ 2” putt for par on 14 to keep a three shot lead, the tournament felt all but over.

• For good measure, Hovland birdied 16, 17, and 18 to shoot a seven under 63.

By the numbers: Hovland gained 2.46 strokes tee to green and 3.2 strokes with his putter on Sunday, which, golf data analyst Rick Gehman noted, was the 5th best statistical round of his career.

• That’s incredibly impressive, especially since the 25-year-old just came off the best statistical round ever last Sunday when he shot 61 to win the BMW Championship.

What they’re saying: “The game plan was trying to play as boring as possible, just trying to play like Tiger back in the day when he would post the 69 or a 70 in a major championship and walk away with a victory,” Hovland told reporters after his round.

• Obviously, things went even better than planned.

As for the $21.6 million Hovland has won between this week and last…

• “It's a lot of cash you're playing for. I mean, it's in the back of your mind,” he said. “But I live in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Money goes a long ways there… I don't need a lot to be happy.”

4. Xander ❤️’s East Lake

Despite coming up short on Sunday, Xander’s dominance of the East Lake Golf Club continued — a course where he’s never shot over par in 28 professional appearances.

• After rounds of 67-64-68-62 this week, Xander has now shot under par in 25/28 rounds at East Lake.

What they’re saying: “I'll hold my head up high. It was the most fun I had losing in quite some time,” Xander told reporters on Sunday. “It's such a weird feeling. I shot 62. I lost by five. Just kudos to Havi.”

As for the “dramatic” East Lake renovation that’s set to begin on Tuesday, this is very good…

5. More notes from Atlanta

Rory’s back injury set him back early in the tournament, though his Sunday 65 (which propelled him into 4th place) was a nice finish. Hopefully, we have a healthy Rory for the Ryder Cup next month.

US Open champion Wyndham Clark had a solid week, finishing solo third. If you’re rooting for the Americans in Rome, hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.

Collin Morikawa shot five over par on the weekend after firing opening rounds of 61-64. Perhaps, the law-of-averages just got the best of Morikawa. But still, it was disappointing Saturday and Sunday.

Scottie Scheffler’s continued putting struggles — including a 2’ 6” miss on Saturday and a 2’ 7” miss on Sunday — were even more difficult to watch. Out of 30 players in the Tour Championship, Scheffler was dead last when it came to strokes gained putting, according to Data Golf.

• The world’s top ranked player had a two shot lead to start the week and ended up losing by 16.

6. Next up — Captain’s picks

Now that the Tour Championship and official PGA Tour season are over, all eyes are on US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, who’s scheduled to announce his six captain’s picks on Tuesday at 10am ET.

• You can watch live on the Golf Channel or on the team’s social channels (@RyderCupUSA).

Quick take: None of the US players “on the bubble” necessarily separated themselves from the pack this weekend at the Tour Championship.

• Kegan Bradley had the best chance to impress Captain Zach heading into Sunday. Instead, he shot a disappointing final round 73.

What they’re saying: “I think about it every second,” Bradley told reporters, regarding the prospect of making the US team. “It's impossible for me not to think about.”

Of note: European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald will make his captain pick selections next Monday, September 4.

7. More winners this week

• Megan Khang won her first LPGA tournament at CPKC Women’s Open.

• Vijay Singh claimed his first Champion’s Tour victory in five years at the Ally Challenge.

• Despite a 59 on Sunday from David Kocher, Chan Kim took home the title at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Albertsons Boise Open.

• Trish Johnson won the 5th ever US Women’s Senior Open.

8. RIP Bob Barker ⛳️

Bob Barker’s passing saddened so many this week, including golf fans who remembered his infamous appearance in “Happy Gilmore.”

For me, when I think of Bob Barker and golf, the Hole-In-One game on the “The Price Is Right” always comes to mind.

• On sick days from school, I remember watching Barker sink (and burn the edges on) many putts over the years.

Rest in peace, Bob. A true legend.

9. Hovland outtakes to-go

Watch and enjoy perhaps the PGA Tour’s most likable winner.

Thanks so much for reading y’all. We’ll be back on Wednesday with reactions to the US Ryder cup picks. Until then, Nick B.