Viktor Hovland Wins Memorial Tournament

Norway's Viktor Hovland won on the first hole of a play-off against American  Denny McCarthy to claim his fourth PGA Tour title at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday.

Hovland shot a two-under 70 to finish on seven under par and edge out  the clubhouse leader and current world no.1  Scottie Scheffler.

McCarthy dropped his first shot of the day on the 18th, missing a par putt which would have seen him bag his first win, instead finishing the day with a 70, tying with Hovland on -7, and sending the tournament to a playoff.

McCarthy then bogeyed the same hole in the playoff while Hovland saved par with the American missing out on a maiden PGA Tour win, making way for the 2023 PGA Championship runner-up to celebrate his first win since November 2021 after some strong performances this season.

Hovland, who finished as runner-up to Brooks Koepka in the US PGA Championship after a crushing double bogey on the 16th hole of the final round, said:

"Playing Jack's course and tournament and winning it, and for him to be able to see it is pretty awesome. He just shook my hand and gave me a couple words of encouragement."

“It feels even better after a few close calls the last few months."

"I didn’t really feel like I hit it my best the whole week, I just played really smart, played conservatively, really relied on my short game and I putted awesome. It’s fun to win one of these things without just ball-striking it to death. Now I can kind of rely on some other strengths as well.”

Despite picking up a $3.6 million for his efforts over the weekend, Hovland had been spotted in the reverse role of caddy the day after his victory.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler carded a 5-under 67, three strokes better than any other player in the final round, to finish solo third.

Rory McIlroy began the day in a tie for the lead and was out in front on the fourth, however he then went on to bogey three of the next four holes on his way to a 75 and a tie for seventh on three under par. 

Andrew Putnam (T5), Adam Schenk (T7) and Lee Hodges (T12) qualify for the 2023 Open Championship as the top-three finishers at the Memorial Tournament not otherwise exempt.