Norway’s Viktor Hovland has never had a victory quite like this on U.S. soil.
With energy provided by fans from his home country, Hovland prevailed in a playoff in the Travelers Championship on Monday morning.
He made a putt from about 8 feet on the first playoff hole for birdie and became the winner when World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler missed a short putt for birdie at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.
“Especially after Scottie hits it so close there, I knew I had to bring in my best to have a chance to beat him. He has certainly brought it out of me and couldn’t be happier,” Hovland said.
Hovland won for the eighth time on the PGA Tour and for the first time this year.
Scheffler had drilled an approach shot and appeared in prime condition to win when the golfers made it to the green. His missed putt was from less than 4 feet on the 18th hole as the ball rolled left of the cup.
“That’s a bit disappointing, especially with the putts I made (Sunday) night to stay in the tournament,” Scheffler said.
The two golfers returned to the course on Monday because it was considered too dark to begin the playoff Sunday night once they completed the fourth round, which was delayed for nearly 90 minutes because of storms as the leaders were on the back nine.
Crowd estimates for the playoff suggested at least 2,000 spectators, including many Norwegians pulling for Hovland.
“It’s really cool to see the Norwegian jerseys out there with the World Cup and everything that is going on,” Hovland said. “Obviously, it helps when you got people like this cheering you on as well. So, yeah, it was a blast.”
When Hovland addressed his challenging playoff putt, he was thinking it was “to tie was what I was expecting” because Scheffler’s ball was so close to the hole. The ball just clipped the cup and fell in for Hovland.
“I’m glad it stopped breaking at the end because it was on the way to (missing),” he said.
Scheffler was bidding to notch the second victory of 2026 and the 21st of his PGA Tour career. Instead, he was runner-up for the fourth time this year.
“I played solid over the course of four days,” Scheffler said. “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, who won the 2024 Travelers Championship, was without a birdie on No. 18 this year.
“It was outside the hole,” he said of the final putt. “It was a speed putt. Just hit it a little bit hard.”
This was the final signature event on the PGA Tour this year, with eight different golfers winning those competitions.
Hovland led Scheffler by one stroke entering the final round. They ended up at 21-under 259 when play was complete Sunday.
Hovland won for the fifth time in six opportunities when holding a 54-hole lead.
Collin Morikawa, who shot 61 in the final round, finished third at 20 under.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (64) placed fourth at 19 under. Wyndham Clark (65), a week removed from winning the U.S. Open, and Akshay Bhatia (67) shared fifth place at 18 under.
J.J. Spaun (64), England’s Alex Fitzpatrick (64) and Canada’s Corey Conners (63) tied for seventh at 17 under.
After Morikawa, the second-best score of the final round was a bogey-free 62 turned in by Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard. That allowed him to move to 14 under and tie for 14th place.
–Field Level Media
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