Hovland delivers clutch putts and wins Memorial in playoff
Viktor Hovland was happy with his three PGA Tour victories, even if they were at resort courses that were soft and susceptible to firing at flags. He wanted a win on American soil, where par was at a premium, and he got every bit of that Sunday at the Memorial.
Two shots behind and facing the three hardest holes at Muirfield Village, Hovland set his sights on a score instead of the leader, Denny Mccarthy, and then delivered his best stuff of the day.
Hovland holed a 30foot birdie putt — the only birdie of the day at No. 17 — around two par saves for a 2-under 70 that got him into a playoff, and then he beat the hard-luck Mccarthy with a 7-foot par to win the Memorial.
His previous three wins were twice at Mayakoba on the Gulf coast of Mexico and once in Puerto Rico. This victory came on conditions so difficult that even Jack Nicklaus was stunned to feel how firm the greens were when he stepped on the 18th to congratulate Hovland.
“It feels really cool to get my first win on the U.S. soil, especially at a tournament like this where this the golf course is arguably harder than most major championship golf courses we play,” Hovland said. “It felt like a
major. So it was really cool that I was able to get it done at a place like this.”
It was a crushing loss for Mccarthy, one of the purest putters on the PGA 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 oneshot lead when he missed the 18th fairway to the left, pitched out to the fairway and narrowly missed a 25foot 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.
Hovland hit the front of the green, and his 60-foot putt stopped 7 feet short, still uphill and with much less break than his 5-footer in regulation to get in the playoff.
“I was shaking more in regulation,” Hovland said.
The 25- year- old from Norway won $3.6 million and moved to No. 5 in the world ranking with his fourth PGA Tour victory, and eighth worldwide since turning pro four years ago out of Oklahoma State.
This was a final day when so many went in reverse from the 22 players who had been separated by three shots at the start of the round.
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.