Viktor Hovland won his first PGA Tour event at one of the largest events.
The 25-year old Norwegian won the Memorial after he made a par two-putt from 58 feet in the first playoff hole.
Hovland, with his trademark smile, said “I didn’t want to do it again” about the putt that decided the game.
Hovland has now won in all four of his seasons on Tour, but Edoardo Molinai, who is also Hovland’s performance coach, pointed out that the previous victories shared something.
All of his Tour victories were on tropical islands, including Puerto Rico, Mexico near Cancun and two unofficial titles won in The Bahamas. Ironic, given that he was born in Norway.
Molinari joked: “I tease him sometimes that it’s time he won on a real golf course and not a tourist one.”
Muirfield Village Golf Club is a course Jack Nicklaus designed near his childhood home, Dublin, Ohio. It certainly qualifies for “a serious course.” Hovland shot a final round 2-under 70, finishing at 7-under 281 on a warm, sunny day.
Hovland stated, “It’s even better now after some close calls.”
Hovland, the seventh-ranked golfer in the world has shown consistency, making 24 consecutive cuts worldwide. He has also been on the cusp of some of the most prestigious tournaments and even finished among the top 10 at three of the majors. Hovland chased Brooks Koepka to the finish of the PGA Championship. He settled for a T-2 which was his best major result. Hovland was the 2018 U.S. Hovland, the 2018 U.S. Amateur winner, quickly established himself as one of golf’s best ballstrikers. However, his short game was admittedly a weakness. Hovland’s victory was special because he did it without his best from tee to green, but with a short-game that had made huge strides and an excellent putter.
Hovland stated, “It’s great to win a game without having to ball strike it to death.”
He also credits his improved course-management. He played with Molinari in a practice round for the U.S. Open, the brother to Francesco, who won the 2018 British Open. A week later, he used some of Molinari’s tips at the BMW International and won.
Hovland stated, “I was very impressed with his mental abilities.”
It has been a great investment. Hovland said Molinari crunched the numbers earlier this year and found that Hovland was short-siding 30 percent of time when he attacked greens using a pitching wedge or 8-iron. The Tour average for that is only 20 percent.
Hovland stated that he was a good iron-player and therefore should have a success rate of 15 percent or less. “I put too much pressure on the short game because I was too aggressive.”
Hovland, who shot a third round 68, started the final day one shot behind Rory McIlroy and Si Woo Kim. However, he made a birdie of 28 feet at hole 17, his only birdie during the final rounds, to reduce the deficit. McCarthy’s putter, which had been excellent all day, got into trouble at the last hole and missed his par putt. This was his first Tour title.
McCarthy drove too far right, and was unable to reach the green when he returned to the 18 thtee. McCarthy burnt the left edge of his 12-foot par-putt and bent his knees, in disbelief. Hovland won the tournament with a 5-footer. He was ranked third for putting in the week.
“I’m heart broken right now,” McCarthy said. McCarthy said, “I thought that this week was going to be my lucky week.
The tournament was open to all players entering the final round, with 22 golfers within three strokes. Scheffler missed a playoff for the second consecutive week despite an excellent ball-striking performance and a closing score of 67. Scheffler made the 36 hole cut at 3 over and was ranked first for SG : Tee-to Green and SG : Approach the Green, but ranked 65 th for SG : Putting. He lost more than 8 strokes on the green to the rest of the field.
Scheffler stated, “I think that my struggles in putting helped me elevate my ball striking because I had to hit the ball really well if I wanted to compete here. I mean, the putts weren’t going in.
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By: Adam Schupak
Title: Viktor Hovland uses late birdie, playoff win to steal victory at 2023 Memorial Tournament
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/06/04/pga-tour-denny-mccarthy-viktor-hovland-2023-memorial-tournament/
Published Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2023 22:20:51 +0000
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