Hovland grabs playoff victory
DUBLIN, Ohio — Viktor Hovland had to wait around to see if there would be a playoff and then he only needed one extra hole to defeat Denny Mccarthy and win the Memorial on Sunday at Muirfield Village.
It's Hovland's first win of the year and the third of the former Oklahoma State star's PGA Tour career. He won the 2018 U.S. Amateur.
Hovland's tee shot on No. 18 found the left edge of the fairway up against the first cut of rough, but Mccarthy was wide right in thick rough. Mccarthy's second shot came up short of the green, while Hovland landed on the green.
Mccarthy missed a 12-foot putt for par and Hovland two-putted for the victory.
Mccarthy, who was seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour, made a bogey on the 18th hole to finish with a 70 and fall back to 7 under and into a playoff with Hovland, who also shot 70 on Sunday.
Former Texas star Scottie Scheffler had the best round of the day at 67 to jump 29 slots and finish 6 under. He waited around quite a while to see if would be a playoff.
The three third-round co-leaders all slipped in the final day. David Lipsky, Si Woo Kim and Rory Mcilroy started the day at 6-under. Kim shot a 73, Mcilroy a 75 and Lipsky a 77.
Before the drama at the end, Collin Morikawa withdrew from the final round of the Memorial because of back spasms, keeping him from a chance to win for a second time at Muirfield Village.
Morikawa had shot 68 in the third round and was two shots out of the lead. He said he was doing pre-round exercises when a muscle in his lower back gave out.
“We were doing some like reflex stuff, trying to reach down and try to pick something up like quick and low. Went after it weird,” he said. “Literally have never had this in my life. I've hurt my back briefly before, but like nothing has been this bad, especially never warming up.”
He said he tried hitting about 10 balls on the range and he hit a clunky 9-iron that went only about 95 yards. He realized that wouldn't work at Muirfield Village.
Morikawa said he wasn't overly worried about the recovery and will rest ahead of the U.S. Open on June 15-18 at Los Angeles Country Club.
Mckibbin nabs first pro win
Tom Mckibbin held off a challenge by Marcel Siem to win the European Open in his debut season on the European tour in Hamburg, Germany.
The 20-year-old from Northern Ireland started the final round as one of six players tied for the lead at 6 under par and went on to win his first title on the tour by two shots on 9 under overall.
He finished his round of 3-under 70 with birdie on the par-five 18th after missing an eagle putt.