There’s a new Baron Of The Bahamas, a repeat hero at the Hero World Challenge and although he claimed he wasn’t comfortable with his golf swing, Viktor Hovland putted lights out all week and on a sunny Sunday at Albany, out-dueled world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler and became the first repeat winner of the event since Tiger Woods went back-to-back in 2006-2007.
“That’s pretty bad-ass,” Hovland said after exhaling and averting total disaster at the 72 hole of this elite competition that had 15 of the world’s top 20 players.
At first it looked like it would be a boring back-nine march to the championship for the 25-year-old star from Norway. After Scheffler made double at the ninth hole, Hovland’s lead swelled to five shots. But golf intervened and by the time his second at the 72-hole hole found the water left of the green, it looked like this thing was headed for a playoff.
Hovland and Scheffler separated themselves from the rest of the field and it had a match play feel over those final holes. Four birdies over the final eight holes cut Hovland’s advantage to two shots on the 18th tee. Hovland lost his tee shot to the right, it bounced out of a bunker, leaving him an awkward, uphill stance and nearly 190 in. Hovland tried to start it well right. “I just got it up in the air and it sailed left,” was how he described what happened to his golf ball. He had to drop and still had 119 in. He left himself 18 feet for bogey.
Meanwhile Scheffler missed the green right and had a scruffy lie. His pitch rolled a good 10 feet past the hole. Still, it looked like the old two-shot swing was clearly in play — a possible playoff looming large. It was then that Hovland did what he had done most of the final day — he one-putted. Fact is, he had 23 one-putts over the weekend. He’s gone to the aim-point method to read greens and it’s proving lethal. Hovland saved bogey, Seheffler missed his par save and Hovland finished with 69 — 16-under par, Scheffler minus 14 with a closing 68.
“It was pretty nerve-racking,” Hovland admitted afterward. “I was leading by five at the turn.”
It’s no secret either that Hovland has a tendency to play well late in the season. “During my short career, I’ve played well early in the year and late in the year,” he explained. He said now he’ll have to make it the entire year and after his putting display, that doesn’t seem far fetched.
This tournament featured an array of conditions. Strong rains wiped out the Wednesday pro-am. On Thursday, they played lift-clean-and-place and repeated that on Friday when winds blew in the 30-35 mile range and Hovland was the halfway leader at five-under par. He took control of the tournament with 10 birdies on Saturday and a closing bogey still had him signing for 64 and he’d take a nice three-shot lead over Scheffler into the finale.
Viktor admitted on day one that he was uncomfortable with his swing but decided to “just go out and play the game.”
And he played the game with that solid ball striking of his.
Used to be his short game was his weakness. Can’t say that anymore. He was a short game wizard all week, especially with the flat-stick.
Now he has two of those nice “Tiger And The Globe” trophies and the repeat feat he shares with the tournament host.
“I’m just glad he (Tiger) didn’t play the past two years,” Hovland said with a smile.
Probably wouldn’t have mattered.
The new Baron Of The Bahamas was a bit too good for everyone.
Hero World Challenge Scoreboard:
