– It’s certainly nerve-wracking for me, says Hovland in the victory interview after the highly dramatic finish. Out on hole 18, he was two strokes down on world number two Scottie Scheffler. A crooked shot meant that he was lying in the rough, and from there there were problems. – Go on, Hovland shouted after the second stroke, before one second later he sighed in despair: – My God. – Where did it go, asked caddy Shay Knight. – In the water, answered Hovland matter-of-factly. He still managed to save the bogey and thus won the tournament after sinking the five-six meter long putt for bogey. Scheffler also ended up making bogey on hole 18, and thus Hovland won by a margin of two. – I led by five strokes at the halfway point, but you are never that comfortable. I didn’t play that well on the last nine, but it was good enough, says Hovland. Exclusive tournament Only 20 players get the opportunity to play in the Hero World Challenge, which is organized by golf legend Tiger Woods. In this year’s tournament, all 20 players were among the 33 best in the world ranking and the best of all was Viktor Hovland. The Norwegian won the tournament last year, and was in a shared lead after both the first and second rounds. With a super round of eight strokes under par on Saturday, he secured a three-stroke lead. He took good care of it on Sunday. With Tiger Woods watching out on the course in the Bahamas, he eventually won by two strokes. The victory is Hovland’s seventh as a professional. The tournament is listed in the PGA Tour’s calendar, but it is not counted in the statistics as a win on the PGA Tour. The victory means that Hovland is back in the top ten in the world ranking. He also secured a prize check for one million US dollars, equivalent to NOK 9.78 million. SPECTATOR: Tiger Woods had to sit out the tournament in the Bahamas with a foot injury, but was present as a spectator. Photo: MIKE EHRMANN / AFP Longest period without a win Hovland quickly established himself at the top of the world during 2019. After becoming the best amateur in both The Masters and the US Open, he turned pro in the summer of 2019. The first victory came when he won Puerto Rico Open in February 2020. On Sunday, he took his seventh career victory, but he has never had to wait so long for a victory. Hovland’s previous victory came in the Dubai Desert Classic at the end of January, and Sunday marked 308 days since he lifted the trophy at the Europatour tournament in Dubai. Previously, 287 days was the longest he had gone between wins since turning pro. In the last 308 days, he had played 22 other tournaments, five more tournaments than he has previously gone without a win. The tournament in the Bahamas is the last of the year for Hovland, who in 2022 has won two. During 2022, he also recorded his first top-ten finish in a major tournament, which he managed when he finished tied for fourth in The Open this summer. 2021: This is what it looked like when Hovland won the Hero World Challenge last year. Photo: Mike Ehrmann / AFP In the lead all day Sunday he delivered stable and good golf from the start. The round’s first birdie came on hole three, but former world champion Scottie Scheffler also got off to a good start. After the first five holes, he had cut Hovland’s lead from three to two strokes. On hole six, Scheffler held up with an eagle and for a brief moment was level with Hovland. However, the Norwegian sunk his birdie putt on the same hole, and then Scheffler made bogey on hole seven and double bogey on hole nine. Combined with a Hovland birdie on hole seven, Hovland suddenly had a four-stroke lead after half the round down to Xander Schauffele and five strokes down to Scheffler. He pared the last nine holes, which kept Scheffler at bay.
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Viktor Hovland won the exclusive Tiger Woods tournament for the second time – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
