– Oh my god, what a player, and what he delivers here, said a hugely impressed Viaplay commentator Joakim Mikkelsen when Hovland made an impressive birdie putt on the 14th hole of Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship. With four holes to go, the Norwegian was in a position to take his first major title. Two holes later, the dream was shattered. Hovland made a big mistake when he was going to hit out of a sand bunker, and smoked a double bogey. “Fytti rakker, Joakim, this was not good,” said Viaplay’s golf expert Espen Kofstad to his commentator colleague, while Hovland grabbed his head, visibly frustrated with his own stroke. Hovland: – Quite unlucky Instead, it was Brooks Koepka who won the PGA Championship for the third time, while Hovland and Scottie Scheffler shared second place. – I thought I did quite well today. I’m pretty unlucky on hole 16, but I still don’t feel like I gave it away. Brooks played very good golf today, sank many putts and had many fantastic shots, and he deserved to win, says Hovland in an interview shown on Viaplay. Koepka sweeps away just over NOK 34 million for the victory, but Hovland does not travel home empty-handed from New York either. He and Scheffler also receive almost 17 million each for the weekend’s effort. Out with the leader, Hovland was tied for second after three rounds on the difficult Oak Hill course, five shots under par. He went into the final round with leader Brooks Koepka, who won the 2018 and 2019 PGA Championship and was six shots under par heading into the final day. It started brutally for Hovland, when the first shot not only ended up in the “rough”, but also behind a tree. But the Norwegian star saved himself masterfully and, like Koepka, parred the first hole. On the second hole, Hovland played his way to a brilliant birdie opportunity, but the putt did not stick. It did that for Koepka, and thus the Norwegian man was two strokes behind. SUPER DUEL: Viktor Hovland gave superstar Brooks Koepka a real fight. Photo: AFP And the American rushed on with another birdie on the third hole, a pair of three-holes. Hovland again had to settle for par. Thus the lead was up to three strokes for Koepka, but Hovland kept his second place. On hole four, Hovland gave himself another birdie opportunity with a brilliant drive onto the green. And this time it sat. At the same time, Koepka made his third straight birdie, and thus it was still three shots up to the leader for Hovland – who with his steady play nevertheless put strong pressure on the rivals who were chasing from behind. Bird chirping and birdie Perhaps it was the birds chirping on Oak Hill that put Viktor Hovland in the right mood. Because on the fifth hole he delivered another brilliant birdie putt. At the same time, Koepka’s birdie streak came to an end for the time being, and thus Hovland was only two strokes behind the tee – and three strokes ahead of three players who at that time shared third place. On the sixth hole, Koepka’s putt simply ended up in the reeds, and there was a long discussion with the judges about where the ball should be dropped. When they finally agreed, Koepka hit the ball safely onto the green. Hovland, on the other hand, had a brilliant result, while the second battle ended up in a sand bunker. Hovland solved the putting best. He saved couples. Koepka did not, who smoked a bogey – and only one stroke separated the duelists. Hole seven ended with a bogey for both Koepka and Hovland, holes eight and nine with par for both – without either of them smelling a birdie. Thus, it was only one stroke that separated the half-finished final round. MUCH TO BE GLAD ABOUT: Viktor Hovland delivered his best major tournament – so far. Photo: AP Kant ut The way home to the clubhouse could have had a sparkling start for Hovland, but a brilliant putt for birdie was just not brilliant enough. The ball took a quarter of a turn along the edge of the hole, but it was edged out. For the third hole in a row, it ended with Hovland par, while Koepka got back on the birdie trail and increased the lead to two strokes. On hole eleven, Koepka got into real trouble when the tee shot ended in the “lip” between the sand bunker and the grass. But magically he played well onto the green with his second shot on the par three hole. Once again, Hovland putted very well for birdie, but again it was just not good enough. Fortunately for the Norwegian, it was also only almost for Koepka on his par putt. The American had to take a bogey, Hovland went for par and the difference was again down to one stroke with seven holes left to play. But already on hole 12, Koepka struck with a brilliant birdie putt straight into the cup. Hovland’s putt was again just not good enough. Par on the Norwegian meant two kinds of lead for Koepka. And suddenly Viktor Hovlands was also only one stroke ahead of a birdie-scoring Scottie Scheffler. Cold On hole 13, Hovland had a birdie and two pars in the first three rounds, and the outcome of the last round ended up in the rough out to the right. But he quickly recovered, and settled on the green in a strong headwind. At the same time, on the front hole, Scheffler got another birdie, and also went up to six under par. But the Norwegian was apparently ice cold and went up to seven under par with a perfect birdie putt. For Koepka it was par, and thus again just one stroke ahead of Hovland. Koepka held on with an almost perfect result on hole 14, but Hovland was not much worse and showed another putt of the perfect stroke. Birdie for both and nine and eight under par respectively. Hole 15 ended with par for both. But on the 16th hole, Hovland got into serious trouble. MORE IN SIGHT: Viktor Hovland has three victories on the PGA Tour and is approaching his first major triumph. Photo: AFP Gambled – and lost The shot ended up in a sand bunker. And when he was about to break out of it, he wedged the ball into the so-called “lip”. He gambled – and lost. It ended with a double bogey, two strokes over par. At the same time, Koepka made another birdie. And with two holes to go, Viktor Hovland was suddenly out of the race for victory, four strokes behind the supreme leader. At the same time, Scheffler also snuck past. Hovland did not allow himself to be mentally broken by the mistake, and saved par on the penultimate hole. Before the last hole he was still number three. There, Hovland delivered a birdie, and thus he shared second place with Scheffler – and got his best major ranking in his career.
ttn-69
The victory eluded Viktor Hovland – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
