Viktor Hovland has struggled this season, but during the St. Jude Championship in Memphis, the Norwegian signed up for the victory. And it happened after the leader of the tournament ended up in a dramatic situation. Hideki Matsuyama had a clear lead towards the end of the fourth and final round of the first of the three decisive tournaments in the PGA playoffs. But on the seventh hole there was drama. – What’s going on? What has happened here? Asked Eurosport commentator Henrik Bjørnstad. Matsuyama was taken aside by the referee, which happens very rarely in the middle of a round. Afterwards, the pictures showed that Matsuyama stepped on the impact mark of the ball before a putt. After the controversial situation, Matsuyama crashed down the charts, and Hovland rose. – It does not appear that it is in the line, but if it had, then he would have had two penalties, said Eurosport’s commentator Per Haugsrud. – It is very wild Because while Hovland delivered three birdies from hole 11 onwards, Matsuyama ended up with bogeys on both holes 12 and 14. Suddenly Hovland was in the lead. Hovland finished the tournament at 15 under par, as did Xander Schauffele. Thus, the two share second place. Matsuyama stepped up, and delivered a good putt on the 17th hole. And suddenly the Japanese was in the lead again, with 16 shots under par before the last hole. – It is very wild, Bjørnstad said of Matsuyama’s putt. He continued the good trend on the last hole, delivering another birdie. With that, he finally finished on 17 strokes under par. Thus, the Japanese took his tenth victory on the PGA Tour. – Hovland takes second place with world runner-up Schauffele. That is a victory in itself. And what a continuation we get now, said Haugsrud. SECOND PLACE: Viktor Hovland delivered the goods. Photo: AFP Had the knife on his throat With second place, Hovland is well placed to be able to repeat the success from last year. Then he won the PGA playoff after the last three crucial tournaments. – This is a big victory for Hovland, says Bjørnstad. The St. Jude Championship is the first of three tournaments in the PGA playoffs – where the top 70 in the rankings were able to participate this weekend. Hovland was number 57 in the ranking, and the Norwegian had to be in the top 50 to play in Colorado next weekend. Hovland won that tournament last year. At the end of the playoffs the following weekend, only the top 30 participate. Now things look bright for Hovland, who won the entire PGA playoff last year. – It felt too much to dream about. If we had been offered that he should come along until next week, we would have said yes. He had to make the top ten here. This is completely insane, said Bjørnstad. MERIT: Viktor Hovland won the BMW Championship last year. Photo: AFP Published 18.08.2024, at 23.40 Updated 19.08.2024, at 00.05
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