The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Norwegian golfer Viktor Hovland can now add a new milestone to his list of “firsts” - winner of the 2021 Hero World Challenge.

The 24-year-old shot a blistering 66 (-6) in the final round of competition yesterday at the Albany Golf Course to finish ahead of a field that included some of the top players on the PGA Tour.

Hovland’s strong finish produced a -18 final score and included a six-shot comeback that won by a single stroke for his fourth PGA Tour title.

“Honestly, when I first teed off and obviously got off to just making a few pars early on, I didn’t really think winning was even in question, but after I made three birdies in a row at the end of the front nine and I got to No. 9 and I was in the greenside bunker and I looked up at the leaderboard and I saw I believe I was tied for the lead, maybe one shot behind or something like that, that’s when I knew that, okay, if I play really well on the back nine, I’ve got a chance.”

Reigning British Open champion Collin Morikawa squandered a five-stroke lead, allowing Hovland the opportunity to rally.

“I knew like I’ve had good stretches of golf throughout the week, but I’ve had a couple bogeys here and there that have kind of stymied my round, so I knew if I can just kind of keep planning my way around there and I can make a couple of key up-and-downs here there and there and keep hitting the way I have and make putts, I could shoot a really low number,” he said.

“Obviously today I kind of got it a bit more going until the end when I kind of limped through the finish line. Yeah, I mean, I knew I needed to take care of business.”

In February 2020, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour when he won the Puerto Rico Open. Later that year, in December, he picked up his second PGA Tour win, and his first at a full-strength PGA Tour tournament, at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

This year, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour when he won the BMW International Open in June. In November, he successfully defended his title at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Hovland was one of eight players in the 20-man Hero World Challenge field making their debut at Albany last week. The eight first-timers have combined to win 13 times on the PGA TOUR since the last time the tournament was played.

“There’s only 20 guys in the field, but the players here are really good and I feel like my wins have come when the field hasn’t been as strong, so for me to do well in a field like this gives me a lot of confidence,” he said.

“You know, still it’s crazy to think that I’m, you know, still just playing the PGA TOUR is pretty incredible just from thinking back to where I grew up and playing golf in Norway, you’re playing golf six months out of the year and it’s pretty farfetched to even just play golf professionally coming from Norway. So for me to be here and winning tournaments is pretty unreal.”

Hovland also noted that his wins have come in tropical climates - Puerto Rico, Mexico and now The Bahamas - a stark contrast to his home country.

“Yeah, there’s not that many similarities to Norway, so I don’t really get it myself,” he said.

“Usually there’s trouble off the tee and you’ve got to hit it straight, I think that helps. But frankly, the grass here, the paspalum and the Bermuda, is not something that I’m very used to, so I don’t know. For some reason I just play well here.”

Scottie Scheffler birdied six of the last eight holes and finished second at -17.

Scheffler began the day seven shots back and even bogeyed the fourth hole before he turned his day around.

“I feel good. I’m ready for the off-season, I’m a bit tired, but usually I play terribly in the fall so I’m pretty pleased to have a few decent starts,” he said.

“Feel like I’m learning a lot. The stuff that I’ve been working on for a long time I feel is starting to improve, and to have a month off now to where I can really take a couple weeks off and get right back to work is exciting and it’s going to be good to be home for a little while.”

Sam Burns and Patrick Reed finished tied for third at -15 while Moriwaka and Justin Thomas finished tied for third at -14 under.

“For as bad as some of the golf shots that I hit this week, I hit way more really, really good ones,” Thomas said. “I mean, obviously worked plenty hard the last couple weeks, but it wasn’t exactly my normal preparation with Thanksgiving the week prior. I was glad to at least have a good one today to salvage a decent week.”

The Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Words, returned to the Albany Resort for the sixth time, and for the first time following a 2020 cancellation due to COVID-19.

The event, which began in 2000, was hosted at Grayhawk Golf Club in Arizona. It then moved to Sherwood Country Club in Los Angeles, where it enjoyed a 13-year tenure. The following year, it moved to the Isleworth Country Club in Florida before its most recent shift to The Bahamas.

The four-round, 72-hole stroke play event features a $3.5 million purse, $1 million winner’s prize and Official World Golf Ranking points awarded.