Viktor Hovland returned Monday to win a playoff against Scottie Scheffler in the Travelers Championship.
JORDAN BANK, GETTY IMAGES
Viktor Hovland arrived at the Monday morning sudden-death playoff against Scottie Scheffler for the Travelers Championship feeling he had nothing to lose.
And Hovland left with one of the most meaningful victories of his interesting career, holing a 6-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to beat the world No. 1 who looked shocked when his 3-foot putt to extend the playoff missed on the left side.
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“It's been stressful. But, yeah, it's unbelievable. Especially after Scottie hits it so close there. I knew I had to bring in my best to have a chance to beat him, and he's certainly brought it out of me and couldn't be happier,” Hovland said after his eighth PGA Tour win and first since the 2025 Valspar Championship.
Hovland, a notorious tinkerer with his golf swing, seemed on the verge of being out of the tournament Sunday until a weather delay helped him reset, coinciding with a run of three consecutive birdies that pushed him into the Monday morning showdown with Scheffler.
With Scheffler’s ball mark inside Hovland’s on the first playoff hole, Hovland understood the urgency of the situation as he leaned over his birdie putt.
“It was one of those I felt like if I missed, he probably makes,” Hovland said. “It was not one I can be overly aggressive with. As soon as I hit it, I definitely did not hit it too firm. It just kept trickling closer and closer, fortunately it stopped breaking and caught the edge. It was a little surreal when it went in.”
Scheffler forced the Monday finish when he holed an 8-foot par putt on the 18th green in the gathering darkness after Hovland’s birdie putt to win just missed on the right side a moment earlier.
Playing in the final Sunday pairing for the sixth time this year with only one victory this season, Scheffler had to grind to force the Travelers to extra holes.
Scheffler made an 8-foot par putt on the 14th hole, made a 7-footer for par after chipping over the green on the drivable par-4 15th and ended the day with a fist pump when his 8-footer on the 18th green rolled in.
That magic ran out Monday morning.
“I played solid over the course of four days. There's obviously some shots that I would like back, but overall it was a good, solid week. Obviously a little bit disappointed with the finish, but overall feel like my game's in a good spot,” Scheffler said.
“I hit (the playoff putt) on my line, I think it was just a little bit firm, it was one of those putts you kind of had to make, and I just hit it a little bit firm. So that's a bit disappointing, especially with the putts I made last night to stay in the tournament. But overall definitely some good things to come from this week.”
Both Scheffler and Hovland finished regulation at 21-under-par 259, one stroke better than fast-closing Collin Morikawa, who shot a final-round 61.
It was Scheffler’s fourth runner-up finish this season and sixth top-four finish in his last eight starts.
Morikawa started the final round nine strokes off the lead but rocketed up the leaderboard with his closing 9-under par round.
“The thought of actually having a chance, waiting it out, didn't really cross my mind. But I told my wife earlier this morning that, you know, let's shoot 61 and end the three-week stretch on a good note and sometimes the way you manifest things works out,” Morikawa said.
Ron Green Jr.
