Victor Hovland (24) fought an intense battle for the championship title at Arnold Palmer, but eventually had to see that he failed to take on the level player Scotty Scheffler (25).
Hovland had the chance of the biggest win of his career, and during large stretches of the final round he was also in the lead, but before the last hole Hovland trailed partner Scotty Scheffler by one stroke — and on par with many other players.
On the 18th hole, Hovland got a six-meter hit for a birdie, while Schaeffler had an impressive performance. Thus, Hovland had to put his shot into a possible replay, but the hit was too short.
Schaeffler won the championship by one stroke, ahead of Hovland, Terrell Hutton, and Billy Hurschel.
Hovland has won three of his last seven tournaments before this week’s tournament.
– I obviously play golf well, but these stings. I feel like my recent victories have come a little out of nowhere. This time I felt I should have won. Hovland says they sting a little PGA Tour.
1 of 3Photo: DAVID CANNON / AFP
– There are a lot of margins. I may have had a lot of margins with me the first two days, but they were a bit blunt the last two days, says Hovland. Discover +.
Even if the victory recedes, the tournament would put the Norwegian back in third place in the world rankings once again. It’s a touch of the best of Hovland’s career, a position he also held after winning in Dubai earlier this year. On the women’s front, Susan “Tota” Petersen was ranked second in the Women’s World Rankings.
Hovland also won $908,000, equivalent to 8.14 million Norwegian kroner.
For Scheffler, it is the second victory of his career on the PGA Tour, having claimed his first win at Phoenix three weeks ago. Hovland and Scheffler entered the PGA Tour together in the 2020/21 season, and Scheffler won the award as Rookie of the Year (newcomer of the year) ahead of Hovland after that season.
Hovland led the championship after two rounds, and in the middle of the third round advanced by four strokes to the nearest competitor. The poor finish meant he was one stroke behind the leading duo of Billy Horschel and Taylor Gotsch after three of four rounds.
On Sunday, Americans had to grapple with it. Gradually, Gooch came out of the battle for victory, while Horschel also ended up in the back. Hovland also introduced fixed golf at the front.
The first jumper of the round came on hole No. 7 of Hofland, after a nice shot on the hole about 180 metres:
Hovland was on the verge of running away from the competitors, but the ghost on holes 8 and 9 after entering into the green bunker made the competitors close again. The Norwegian responded with a small birdie on hole 11, but had to see that there was a new ghost on hole 13 after firing three shots from a distance of seven metres.
Prior to the last five holes, Hovland was in a split with playing partner Scotty Scheffler, and on the 15th hole Hovland seemed to benefit from Scheffler playing far to the left on the shot, only managing to take the ball out in a rough condition. The second shot. Schaeffler managed to save the ball after sinking in a powerful seven-meter hit, while Hovland hit a hole in the 25-meter and suddenly had to fight for equality.
He was unsuccessful after colliding with the fortified bunker three meters from the hole. Hovland struggled with the match out of the sand in the tournament, saving only three out of 13 times. Admittedly, he also delivered some great singles from the vault, like these from Round Three:
Hole 16 was supposed to turn the cycle upside down again. Before the pit, Schaeffler was alone in the lead, one stroke ahead of Gary Woodland, Hovland finished playing Terrell Hutton and Billy Hurschel who came offside from behind.
Woodland made an eagle on the 16th hole, while Hovland made a birdie. Thus, it was Woodland who took the lead, but played it away with a double bogey on the 17th hole after a horrific hit in the vault.
Thus, Schaeffler and Hofland were again in the driver’s seat before they had to crash into the 17th hole. There was a ghost for Hofland, while Scheffler made a pair. And so the Norwegian had to hit the last hole, but there was a pair for both, and thus a championship victory for Schaeffler.
You can catch up on the golf season on Discovery+! Hofland & Co.’s next tournament starts on Thursday. Then the Norwegian will play in the Players Championship, the Norwegian made this mistake last year:
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