DUBLIN, Ohio — Viktor Hovland was happy with his three PGA Tour victories, even if they were at resort courses that were soft and susceptible to firing at flags. He still wanted a win on American soil, where par was at a premium, and he got every bit of that Sunday at the Memorial Tournament.
Two shots behind and facing the three hardest holes at Muirfield Village, Hovland set his sights on a score instead of the leader, Denny McCarthy, and then delivered his best stuff of the day.
He holed a 30-foot birdie putt — the only birdie of the day at No. 17 — around two par saves for a 2-under-par 70 that got him into a playoff, and then he beat the hard-luck McCarthy with a seven-foot par to win the tournament founded nearly a half-century ago by Jack Nicklaus.
Hovland won twice in Mexico and once in Puerto Rico for his previous three PGA Tour wins. This victory came in conditions so difficult that even 18-time major champion Nicklaus was stunned to feel how firm the greens were when he stepped on the 18th to congratulate Hovland.
“It feels really cool to get my first win on the U.S. soil, especially at a tournament like this where this the golf course is arguably harder than most major championship golf courses we play,” Hovland said. “It felt like a major. So it was really cool that I was able to get it done at a place like this.”