NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Viktor Hovland won the Hero World Challenge with more excitement than he needed Sunday, clinching it with a 20-foot bogey putt on the final hole for a 3-under 69 to join the host of the Tiger Woods tournament as the only consecutive winners.
Hovland took a four-shot lead into the turn when Masters champion Scottie Scheffler double-bogeyed the par-5 ninth. No one got within two shots the rest of the way.
It just didn’t feel so easy.
Hovland had a two-shot lead on the 18th when his 6-iron from the slope over a bunker swung sharply to the left and into the water. He took a penalty shot and hit a full wedge about 20 feet for a chance to clear the bogey.
Scheffler was in the sandy area to the right of the green, and his chip went hard over the edge and settled 10 feet away, giving him a putt for par to force a playoff if Hovland missed.
Hovland holed out the bogey putt for another trophy presentation with Woods. It was very different from a year ago, when he rallied from six shots from behind.
“It’s fucking stressful,” Hovland said with a smile. “You are never that comfortable. I didn’t play that well on the back nine, but it was good enough.”
Woods won in 2006 and 2007 when it was held at the Sherwood Country Club. He had to retire this week with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, instead of looking on in his Sunday redshirt for some drama no one expected.
Hovland finished at 16-under 272 and earned $1 million. The win isn’t official, but world ranking points pushed him three places to No. 9.
Scheffler needed to win to return to world No. 1, at least for a few weeks. Rory McIlroy was projected to finish the year at the top of the rankings, regardless of the result.
Starting three shots behind, Scheffler holed a shot from 30 yards short of the green on the par-5 sixth hole as Eagle hit 14-under and momentarily tied for the lead. Hovland was in trouble off the tee, having to hit a blind shot over a 20-foot-high dune and then holed out an 18-foot birdie putt to hold a lead.
The next hole was fundamental, despite the 18th.
Scheffler’s shot from the end of the fairway on the short par-4 seventh barely made it to the green and rolled into the bunker, causing a bogey. Hovland was on the edge of a bunker and jumped to 5 feet for birdie and a two-shot swing, restoring his lead to three.
Scheffler’s double bogey in the ninth, culminating in a 3-pointer from about 15 feet, left him five shots behind.
Cameron Young made a strong bid and was within two shots at one point until bogeying the 16th. Xander Schauffele also made an early run until bogeying the par-5 16th.
Scheffler made three straight birdies on the 16th hole to get within two shots, and Hovland gave him a chance on the 18th until he closed it out with the big putt.
“I guess I made it a little more exciting,” Hovland said with a laugh.
Scheffler’s goal was to be within a shot before the 18th. It didn’t get to that, but he still had a chance.
“I said earlier in the week that I don’t like finishing second,” said Scheffler, runner-up in the Bahamas for the second year in a row and who posted his third second-place finish this year. “It’s not a good feeling right now. But I’m proud of the fight.”
Scheffler still heads into the holidays with a big year behind him: the Masters among his four PGA Tour victories, the longest No. 1 in the world this year, PGA Tour player of the year.
Young had a 68 and finished alone in third, followed by Schauffele (68) and Justin Thomas, who had five birdies over a six-hole stretch over the back nine to salvage a poor start and close on 70 to finish fifth.
“It’s only 20 players, but it’s the best 20 players in the world,” Hovland said. “You have to play your best to win.”
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