Hovland moves to 15th in the world following Mayakoba win
Viktor Hovland of Norway celebrates on the 13th green during the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleón Golf Club on December 06, 2020 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Norway’s Viktor Hovland continued his meteoric climb in world golf when he birdied the 72nd hole at the Mayakoba Golf Classic to win his second PGA Tour title this year and join Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff in the world’s top 15.
All three were amateurs in May last year but PGA champion Morikawa is now worn No 7 with US Open runner-up Wolff 14th and Hovland 15th in the latest Official World Golf Ranking.
Hovland (23) made a 30-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the Puerto Rico Open for his maiden PGA Tour win in February before slotting home a 12 footer for a closing, six-under 65 at El Camaleón Golf Club and a one-shot win over Aaron Wise on 20-under par.
After winning his maiden PGA Tour title in February when he birdied the Puerto Rico Open in February Hovland went into the final round two strokes behind Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo on 14-under.
As Grillo shot a one-over 72 to tie for eighth on 15-under, Hovland went out in 32 to open up a two-shot lead on a course softened by rain that caused a two-hour delay in the morning.
When he bogeyed the 12th, just half a dozen players were separated by one stroke but he birdied the 13th and 14th to tie with Wise, who shot an eight-under 63 to set the clubhouse target at 19-under.
Hovland saved a great par at the 16th, where his approach appeared to be heading for a hazard but he got uo and down for par and then hit a soft nine iron from 142 metres to around 12 feet at the 18th and rolled in the birdie putt for victory.
“I don’t really feel I am very good at those pressure situations,” Hovland said of his second 72nd hole win. “I mean, I was shaking there in the end. I thought I had lost it after the second shot on 16, made an awesome par there but missed a putt on 17 and knew I had to make birdie in 18 and just happened to go in. I don’t feel comfortable in those moments at all.”
His win is good news for European Ryder Cup captain Pádraig Harrington, who would be happy to have Hovland in his team for Whistling Straits.
2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN
(12th of 50 events in the PGA TOUR Season)
Playa del Carmen, Mexico December 3-6, 2020 Par/Yards: 36-35—71/7,017
El Camaleón Golf Club at Mayakoba Resort Purse: $7,200,000 FedExCup Points: 500 (winner)
Final-Round Notes – Sunday, December 6, 2020
Weather: Due to inclement weather, the final round was suspended from 8:44 a.m. until 10:55 a.m. Preferred lies in closely mown areas were in effect. Overcast with a high of 82. Wind S 6-12 mph.
Final-Round Leaderboard
Viktor Hovland 67-69-63-65—264 (-20)
Aaron Wise 67-68-67-63—265 (-19)
Adam Long 70-67-63-67—267 (-17)
Tom Hoge 66-67-65-69—267 (-17)
Things to Know
Viktor Hovland notches second career PGA TOUR victory in his 35th career start
Hovland becomes the fifth European player since 1945 with multiple PGA TOUR wins before the age of 24
Hovland becomes the youngest TOUR winner since Sungjae Im at 2020 The Honda Classic
Austin Eckroat becomes the third amateur to shoot 65 or better in the final round of a non-major TOUR event since 1983
Max Homa makes 11 birdies in a 13-hole stretch to finish T12
Carlos Ortiz earned the best result among the six Mexican players in the field
Viktor Hovland (following the win)
Category
Age 23 years, 2 months, 18 days
FedExCup 3
OWGR 15
PGA TOUR starts 35
PGA TOUR wins 2
PGA TOUR top-10s 5
Mayakoba starts 3
Notched second career PGA TOUR victory, following his win at the 2020 Puerto Rico Open
At 23 years, 2 months, 18 days, became youngest TOUR winner since Sungjae Im at 2020 The Honda Classic
Fifth European player since 1945 with multiple PGA TOUR victories before the age of 24 (Rory McIlroy/6, Seve
Ballesteros/3, Sergio Garcia/3, Jon Rahm/2)
Became the first winner of the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN to birdie the 72nd hole
Made his first PGA TOUR start at this event in 2018 playing as an amateur
Owns four top-15 finishes in five starts this season (Won/2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN, T15/Vivint
Houston Open, T12/ THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK, T13/U.S. Open)
Recorded 25 birdies for most in the field this week
Missed the cut in his two previous starts at this event (2018, 2019)
Aaron Wise
Bogey-free round of 8-under 63 tied his career-low on TOUR, marking the fourth time in his career to do so (R3/2016 John Deere Classic, R2/2018 AT&T Byron Nelson, R3/2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN)
Owns three top-20 finishes in seven starts this season on TOUR (2nd/2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN, T11/Vivint Houston Open, T17/Sanderson Farms Championship)
Notched his second top-10 in five appearances at this event (2nd/2020, T10/2018) 2017-18 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year
Additional Notes
Following a T2 finish at this event last year, Adam Long (-17/T3) owns a scoring average of 66.50 (eight rounds) at El Camaleon GC
Tom Hoge (-17/T3) carded a 2-under 69 in the final round for his best result on TOUR since a runner-up at 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier
After finishing the third round with five consecutive birdies, Max Homa (-14/T12) birdied six of his first eight holes in the final round (11 birdies in a 13-hole stretch) en route to a 6-under 65
With a final-round 6-under 65, Austin Eckroat (-14/T12) becomes the third amateur to shoot 65 or better in the final round of a non-major TOUR event since 1983 (64/Joaquin Niemann/2017 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, 65/Braden Thornberry/2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic)
Of the six players representing Mexico this week, Carlos Ortiz recorded the best performance finishing T8 at 15-under In his bid to become the event’s first player to successfully defend his title, Brendon Todd finished T8 at 15-under 269
Bogey-Free Rounds
R1 (2): Michael Gligic (67), Chase Seiffert (69)
R2 (8): Lucas Glover (65), Charley Hoffman (66), Abraham Ancer (67), Joel Dahman (67), Chris Baker (68), Will Zalatoris (68), Vaughn Taylor (69), Tim Wilkinson (69)
R3 (5): Justin Thomas (62), Abraham Ancer (65), Patrick Rodgers (65), Brice Garnett (66), Russell Knox (68)
R4 (8): Aaron Wise (63), Abraham Ancer (66), Carlos Ortiz (66), Hank Lebioda (67), Troy Merritt (67), Kelly Kraft (68), Quade Cummins (69), Brian Harman (69)
