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Hisatsune started a bit off the pace, entering the day in fifth place. When leader Jordan Smith opened with back-to-back birdies it looked like a done deal but Smith went on to swallow a trio of bogeys without circling any more birds. For Hisatsune, he traded seven birdies with a pair of bogeys on the day. “For me, I didn’t think I would win, but I just won! I’m feeling delighted, it’s my first win, I’m so happy. I fly back to Japan tomorrow. Maybe in business class, I don’t know!” With this win, the 21-year-old DP World Tour rookie climbs from 37th to 11th in the Race to Dubai standings.

Theegala narrowly missed out on East Lake this season so his status was already fully secure for the 2024 campaign. His ability to freewheel it this week certainly helped his case and then he leaned on past experiences when being in contention. “I was so, so much calmer today. At Waste I was just kind of thrown in with all the top guys in the world and that might have been my 10th PGA TOUR start that year on a sponsor invite. Yeah, much calmer and chiller atmosphere this week and I think that helped.” This was his third time holding a 54-hole lead with finishes of T8 (2021-22 Sanderson Farms Championship) and T3 (2022 WM Phoenix Open) in the previous two. With him locking up a big career goal like this, combined with the fact his status is already secured for next season, it’s unlikely that we’ll see much more of Theegala before the 2024 campaign kicks off.

Fox started his Sunday in fourth place but stumbled out of the gate with a triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 third hole. Most would have hung their head and gone through the motions after that but Fox fought back with eight birdies on the final 13 holes to heist the hardware. It was an emotional win for Fox who has had a chaotic year off the course, and had his family in attendance this week to help him feel refreshed. “Everything feels a bit more normal the last couple of weeks rather than just complete chaos... Pretty cool to win with everyone here watching except my father-in-law, but I know he would be proud.” Fox has split time between tours this season but with this win he jumps from 30th to 3rd in the Race to Dubai rankings.

The Aussie finished just 153rd in the FedExCup standings this season but on the bright side, is still exempt through next season thanks to his win at the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Playing without the stress of securing a card, Herbert opened with a 10-birdie effort at Silverado Resort. A hot putter was the catalyst, leading the field with 5.36 strokes gained. This round matches his previous best on Tour (R4/2022 ZOZO Championship). It’s also his first time posting a first-round lead on the PGA Tour (previous best R1 position being T7 at the 2022 PGA Championship).

Fitzpatrick celebrated his birthday on September 1st by playing himself into contention at the Omega European Masters. Just a week later he shared the news of his engagement via social media. The Englishman had an up-and-down season but is trending well on and off the course ahead of this week’s BMW PGA Championship and upcoming Ryder Cup.

The 21-year-old broke out with a win at the Barracuda Championship in late July. He did so while playing as a Non-Member, which resulted in him falling short of the FedExCup Playoffs. It was still a great year for the young phenom and now it’s a great year off the course, as well. Bhatia will be making his third appearance at Silverado Resort with a missed cut and T-9 finish in his two previous tries.

McIlroy was the man to beat heading into Sunday and that was still true for one-third of his round. From there, he found water four times on his way into the clubhouse, playing the final 12 holes at 4-over to drop well out of contention. McIlroy ended five shots off the winning tally of Vincent Norrman. On a positive note, his back troubles appeared to be a thing of the past as he was right in the hunt through 60 holes this week and will now turn his attention toward Wentworth Club for one final tune-up ahead of the Ryder Cup.

Norrman had a breakout win in the summer, snagging his maiden at the Barbasol Championship. Less than two months later, and he’s bagged another pro win, this time on the DP World circuit. He held off home favorites Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy, “I’m just as starstruck as some of those fans out here seeing those guys, and to be competing against them is so cool. Yeah, to beat them is even cooler.” Norrman is now 7th on the Race to Dubai points list and will keep his focus overseas as he readies for the BMW PGA Championship.

The Ulsterman tweaked his back ahead of the TOUR Championship but fought through the injury to manage a fourth-place finish, with the help of his starting strokes. What has he been doing since Atlanta? “Went to see the physio a couple times. I hit balls once on Saturday before we left, and we flew and we spent a couple days in London before we came here.” McIlroy has managed his fatigue with a light practice schedule in the last month and is starting to feel better, “I would say it’s at 90 percent, 95 percent. It’s not a hundred percent better.” McIlroy is sitting around +300 to +350 in the outright betting market to start the event, so there is no discount available despite the back concerns.

There wasn’t anything too shocking with these picks but there were certainly cases to be made for a few names outside of the bubble. The most notable omission was Adrian Meronk who finished just 186 European points outside of auto-qualifying while also sporting a win and runner-up finish in three tries at Marco Simone GC. The Europeans opted for youth instead, picking the 22-year-old Nicolai Hojgaard who also has a win at the host course. The 23-year-old Ludvig Aberg also cemented his spot on Sunday with a breakout win at the Omega European Masters. The former World No. 1 amateur has six top 25s in nine worldwide starts since turning pro this summer. These six picks will join the six auto-qualifiers to make up the European squad. Those auto-qualifiers ended up being Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Robert MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, and Matt Fitzpatrick.