At the Memorial, Viktor Hovland Put It All Together for His Biggest Win
Putting impressive rounds and tournaments together has been Viktor Hovland’s calling card, but it always seemed like he was coming up just short in the big ones—until Sunday.
While he beat Denny McCarthy in a one-hole playoff for the Memorial, it was Hovland’s steadiness over the last four holes when down three shots that was the turning point of the tournament.
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“It was awesome,” Hovland said. “I played 16, 17, 18, I think, two under the whole week. Yeah, those holes are—I think I’ll have nightmares playing those holes in my head.”
With a birdie on the par-5 15th Hovland moved to six under, two shots off the lead of McCarthy, who was bogey-free and playing one hole behind.
With Muirfield Village’s final three holes playing the hardest all week, Hovland seemed unfazed as he parred the par-3 16th and then accomplished a feat that none of the field could duplicate, making birdie on the par-4 17th to move to seven under and just one shot back of McCarthy, who was still bogey free.
“Obviously, you can make a birdie coming in, but it’s just so easy to make a bogey,” Hovland said. “You can hit a decent shot, but if it catches a bad bounce or you cut it away from the pin and it just bounces firmly, you end up in the bunker and now you’ve got a brutal up-and-down, and it’s just—you know, I got it done this time around.”
After Hovland was done, signing for a two-under 70 after making par at the last, McCarthy made a mistake off the tee. His drive found the left rough and wasn’t in a position to reach the green, which ultimately cost him his par when he missed the par putt for his only bogey of the round.
“It was pretty incredible that I didn’t make a bogey leading up to that,” McCarthy said. “I think that just speaks to the grind, the will, the grit I have inside of me. I’m a really fierce competitor and I never give up, and you guys probably saw some of that this week.”
The competitiveness and grit came to the forefront on the playoff hole, not by McCarthy but by Hovland, who found the front of the green in regulation and two-putted from there.
It was the Norwegian’s first win in the continental United States and his first on a golf course where he was uncomfortable but persevered.
Hovland had historically struggled at Muirfield Village, finishing T-51, T-47, T-48 in three prior appearances.
This week, Hovland showed a new game that could compete on the faster greens of Muirfield Village and also showed a new course management strategy that tried to eliminate short-siding himself.
“This week I told myself that when I’m out of position just play for the fatter part of the green and if I miss the green, I still have a shot where I can roll the ball up or slow the ball down enough to get it close to the pin,” Hovland said. “So, I knew this was kind of going to be a competition of not making any double bogeys or making too many mistakes.”
At 25, Hovland has seemingly rebuilt his game with a combination of an improved short game, a more analytical strategy and a confidence he can get it done on any course.
“I’ve relied on my putter this week, and even if I’m out of position, I know that I have a short game, so when I hit bad shots, it doesn’t bother me as much,” Hovland said. “Whereas before it was like, O.K., I just wasted a shot that I couldn’t afford to waste. Yeah, that just kind of changes the mindset a little bit.”