OLYMPIA FIELDS, In poor health. — Viktor Hovland delivered one of the best spherical of his profession on the proper time, making birdie on all however two holes on the again 9 Sunday for a 9-under 61 to interrupt the course file at Olympia Fields and storm previous Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick to win the BMW Championship.
What appeared to be a two-man race between Scheffler and Fitzpatrick became a one-man present by Hovland. He headed to the again 9 4 pictures behind. In the long run, Scheffler and Fitzpatrick needed to gap out from the golf green to catch him.
Each closed with a 66, a rating that usually could be sufficient to win on a day like this. They needed to accept runner-up to Hovland, who received for the second time this 12 months and by no means seemed higher doing it.
Hovland solely had one putt longer than 15 ft on the again 9. He closed with birdies on the seventeenth and 18th, the 2 hardest holes, ending with an method over the bunker to six ft on the 18th for one final birdie.
“That needs to be one of the best spherical I’ve ever performed,” Hovland mentioned. “Given the circumstances — a playoff occasion, this golf course — the best way I performed the final holes was fairly particular.”
Seems the drama got here from in every single place else.
Jordan Spieth bogeyed his final two holes for a 71 and was on the verge of falling out of the highest 30 within the FedEx Cup who make it to East Lake subsequent week for the Tour Championship. However then Denny McCarthy made three bogeys over his final seven holes to fall out.
The cruelest of all was Sahith Theegala. He ran off three straight birdies by the seventeenth gap and was projected to be within the prime 30. However he took bogey on the final gap, whereas Patrick Cantlay in his group made birdie. They tied for fifteenth, and that bogey-birdie mixture was sufficient to finish Theegala’s season.
Sepp Straka wound up getting the thirtieth spot by 9 factors over Theegala.
Xander Schauffele did sufficient proper in his spherical of 68 to tie for eighth, incomes sufficient cash to narrowly earn the sixth and closing automated spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup staff. Schauffele was sure to get one of many six captain’s picks, however his end moved PGA champion Brooks Koepka from No. 5 to No. 7 within the Ryder Cup standings.
U.S. captain Zach Johnson makes his six picks in 9 days.
Scheffler had six birdies and by no means fell out of the lead till late within the day, although he was haunted by three putts from 6 ft or nearer than he missed over the ultimate eight holes.
The world’s No. 1 participant missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-3 sixteenth that will have tied him with Hovland. On the subsequent gap, Scheffler’s 20-foot birdie putt ran 4 1/2 ft by the opening, and he missed the par putt to fall two pictures behind.
For all the chances, Fitzpatrick was the one participant who labored his method into the highest 30 who head to Atlanta for the FedEx Cup finale. He began at No. 40 and moved as much as No. 10.
“Cannot do something about 61. I did simply see Viktor — I referred to as him a bit of s—,” Fitzpatrick mentioned with a smile. “However for me, simply actually happy once more that I performed rather well, closing spherical in competition with world No. 1, and I did not lose it. Another person got here from behind and received it.”
Scheffler, in a small comfort, is the No. 1 seed at East Lake for the second straight 12 months. Meaning he begins the event at 10-under par, two pictures forward of Hovland.
Rory McIlroy, who shot 66 and completed fourth on the BMW Championship, is the No. 3 seed, adopted by Jon Rahm and Lucas Glover.
