In the final two weeks of the PGA TOUR season, Viktor Hovland played the finest golf of his life, and it paid off with the biggest trophy of his career a FedExCup win and the $18 million bonus , on Sunday.
Hovland maintained his six-shot advantage despite Xander Schauffele’s constant pressure. The 25-year-old Norwegian won by five shots at East Lake by continuing to attack the course and finishing with a 7-under 63.
“Being here right now seems a little weird. The last two weeks have seen me play some of my greatest golf ever, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.” Hovland stated after earning the silver FedExCup trophy.
With three victories , Hovland concluded his greatest campaign. Even more astounding is the fact that he finished 36-under par in both of his final competitions, the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields and the TOUR Championship at East Lake.
With seven holes remaining, Schauffele closed the gap to three strokes , forcing him to work for his $18 million. Hovland put Schauffele out of contention on the 16th hole with a 10-foot birdie putt after ending the suspense with a 25-foot par putt on the 14th hole.
Schauffele and Hovland performed beautifully. They recorded the top scores of the day when playing in the final group on a day where thunderstorms caused a delay of nearly two hours.
The lowest Sunday score for a TOUR Championship winner was a 63 by Hovland.
“I believed that being 62 would allow me to approach him. He was a phenomenal player. He hit relevant putts and generally played like a champion.” Schauffele said.
Hovland entered the TOUR Championship as the No. 2 seed, starting at 8-under par. Hovland recorded a score of 19-under 261, the same score as Schauffele who had begun the competition at 3-under par.
No one scored higher than Schauffele for the second time in four years, but he didn’t leave Atlanta with a trophy to show for it.
Such is the nature of the FedExCup championship, and such is the significance of a successful season and a strong showing in the two Playoffs competitions preceding the TOUR Championship.
“I’ll be proud of myself. I haven’t had as much pleasure losing in a while. It’s such a strange sensation. I shot 62. I came in fifth. Praises for Hovi. He played incredibly well over the past few weeks to earn this spot and essentially put the icing on the cake for himself and his club.” Schauffele said.
Schauffele exerted every effort. When he departed East Lake on Saturday night, he was six shots down and knew his only chance of winning depended on how much pressure he could apply to Hovland over the front nine.
Schaffelle made a 30. After a two-hour delay caused by thunderstorms that significantly softened the East Lake turf, Hovland almost matched him birdie for birdie, shooting a 31 that included a crucial 15-foot par save on No. 2.
Despite his California cool, Schauffele was simply unrelenting. With seven holes remaining, he cut the advantage to three strokes by sinking an 18-foot birdie putt on the 11th par-3 hole and a 12-footer on the 12th.
Given how wonderfully Schauffele was playing and Hovland’s three missed birdie opportunities from 10 feet or closer, it seemed like the margin was even narrower.
The 14th hole at East Lake, which is the hardest, is where the crucial putt was made. Hovland’s pitch was poor and stopped just inside 25 feet from the hole because he already came short of the green, almost 100 feet from the flag.
He pounded his fist harder than he had all day and poured it into his heart. The winning shot on the 16th hole was another pure short iron, this one to 10 feet for a birdie. The silver FedExCup trophy was then being engraved by the engraver.
“It was extremely important for momentum when that putt went in. With four holes remaining, two strokes are different from three shots, especially with 15 to go. After that, I simply let myself go.” Hovland said as regards to the par-3 to a peninsula green.
He finished with three successive birdies, which decided the winning margin.
It now depends on how his competitors evaluate his season. The two front-runners for PGA TOUR player of the year were expected to be Masters champion Jon Rahm, with four victories, and Scottie Scheffler, with two victories, including THE PLAYERS Championship, and the No. 1 position thanks to his exceptional consistency.
Hovland won the Memorial and two FedExCup Playoff competitions, including the crucial one, to round off the season.
Wyndham Clark, the U.S. Open champion, finished third, 11 strokes down, and won the B-Flight. That merited a bonus of $5 million. Patrick Cantlay (66) finished alone in fifth place and earned $3 million, while Rory McIlroy (65) finished fourth and earned $4 million.
The Ryder Cup in Rome in a month will be the next opportunity for Hovland and Schauffele to face off against one another.
