Hovland’s clutch putts deliver at Memorial
Viktor Hovland handled the toughest stretch at Muirfield Village and delivered three clutch putts at the end to win the Memorial in a playoff over hard-luck Denny McCarthy Sunday in Dublin, Ohio.
Hovland closed with a 2-underpar 70 on another brutal test on a course baked all week by sun, forcing the playoff with a 30-foot birdie on the 17 th — the only one on that hole in the final round — and saving par from behind the 18th green.
Back to the 18th in the playoff, Hovland barely got onto the front of the green, some 60 feet away from the back pin, and two-putted by holing a 7-foot par putt.
It was his fourth PGA Tour victory and first on American soil, this one with a $3.6 million winner’s check and a handshake from host Jack Nicklaus.
It was a crushing loss for McCarthy, one of the purest putters on tour. He showed his touch by saving crucial pars and playing bogey-free on a day when the average score was just under 75. His only bogey came on the 18th hole — twice.
McCarthy had a one-shot lead when he missed the 18th fairway to the left, pitched out to the fairway, and narrowly missed a 25-foot par putt for the win. In the playoff, his shot from the right rough rolled back off the green some 50 yards away. He pitched to 12 feet and the putt caught the left edge and spun away.
“I’m heartbroken right now,” McCarthy said, emotion in his voice after his closest call to win on the PGA Tour in his 156th attempt.
Rory McIlroy chipped in from below the fourth green for birdie and had the lead on the front nine, but he gave away far too many shots on the back — three bogeys in a row — for a 75 that took him out of the picture.
Scottie Scheffler closed with a 67 and finished third and missed the playoff by one shot, remarkable considering he made the cut on the number.
LPGA — Two-time NCAA champion Rose Zhang became the first LPGA winner in her pro debut in 72 years, capturing the Mizuho Americas Open in Jesey City, N.J., with a par on the second hole in a playoff against Jennifer Kupcho.
Zhang, 20, went from NCAA champion to LPGA champion in a span of 13 days.
The last female player to win as a pro in her debut was Beverly Hanson, who edged Babe Zaharias to take the Eastern Open in 1951.
The Stanford product, who turned pro last week but was playing on a sponsor’s exemption, shot a 2-over 74 in the final round. She squandered a chance to win in regulation when she missed an 8-foot par putt.
Both players hit the fairway on No. 18 on the second playoff hole, but Zhang hit her approach from the fairway within 10 feet. Kupcho was short on her approach, her first putt went just over the back edge of the green, and her second putt just missed. That left Zhang with two putts for the win.
Zhang held her face in disbelief after the winning putt fell as players celebrated with her by giving her red roses.
Zhang did not have a birdie in her final round and finished at 9under 279.
The victory was worth $412,500 and it also earned Zhang an automatic LPGA Tour membership.