Viktor Hovland won on the first hole of a play-off to clinch his fourth PGA Tour title at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.
The 25-year-old Norwegian fired a two-under 70 on a windy day in Ohio at to finish on seven under and eclipse the clubhouse leader Scottie Scheffler, who shot a best of the day 67 to fly up the leaderboard on a difficult day for scoring on Sunday.
Denny McCarthy missed a par putt on the 72nd hole to seal his first PGA win and also finished the day with a 70. Hovland then saved par on the first extra hole to deny the American.
A poor drive by McCarthy led to another bogey and Hovland converted from seven feet to celebrate his first win since November 2021 after a series of recent near misses, including at the PGA Championship and the Masters.
“It’s a little bit surreal,” said Hovland, who was one shot off the lead overnight, along with McCarthy. “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.”
Rory McIlroy began the final day with a share of the lead with David Lipsky and Kim Si-woo, but a closing three-over 75 from the Northern Irishman left him four shots off the play-off.
Hovland collected a cool $3.6m for the win and moved up to fifth in the world ranking.
Viktor Hovland WITB
Driver: Ping G425 LST (9°)
Fairway Woods: TaylorMade Stealth Plus ( 15°), Ping G430 Max 7-wood
Hybrid: Ping G425
Utility: Titleist U510 (21°)
Irons: Ping i210 (4-PW)
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 (50°, 56°), Ping Glide 2.0 (58°)
Putter: Ping PLD DS 72
Ball: Titleist Pro V1