Daily Times

PLAYA DEL CARMEN: Norway’s Viktor Hovland defended his title at the Mayakoba Championship on Sunday for his second triumph of the year and third career US PGA Tour victory. The 24-year-old from Oslo fired a final-round four-under par 67 at El Camaleon Golf Course in Mexico to shoot a 72-hole tournament record of 23-under 261. That was enough for Hovland, who fired a US PGA career-low 62 on Saturday, to defeat Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz by four strokes despite the host-nation hero closing with five birdies on the last seven holes to shoot 66. World number 17 Hovland won the European Tour’s BMW International Open at Munich in June. His prior US PGA titles came last year at Mayakoba and at the 2020 Puerto Rico Open. Hovland has produced seven top-five US PGA finishes this year, including shared fifth at the Tour Championship and runner-up efforts at Riviera at the WGC Concession event. American Justin Thomas, the 2017 PGA Championship and 2021 Players Championship winner, was third on 266 after a 69 with countryman Scottie Scheffler fourth on 267 after a 66. Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who turned 23 on Sunday, and American Matthew Wolff, who fired a course-record 61 on Thursday, shared fifth on 268. Hovland played the week with a driver shaft borrowed from US rival James Hahn after shattering his just before his first round.
The Norwegian began the day with a two-stroke lead and made birdies at the par-5 fifth and seventh holes, holed a 10-foot par save at eight then sank a long birdie putt at the ninth to make the turn at 22-under with a four-stroke lead over Scheffler. Hovland rolled in a 12-foot birdie at the 11th but saw his run of 37 holes without a bogey end at the par-4 12th, trimming his lead to three. At the par-5 13th, Hovland had to save par from the rough but Scheffler took a double bogey at the par-4 16th and the European star’s lead stretched to five holes with five to play. Hovland rolled in a 10-foot putt for birdie at 14 but Ortiz charged with his fourth birdie in a row coming at the par-3 15th and Thomas matched him for both to share second at 18-under. Hovland took a bogey at 15 but answered with a birdie at the par-4 17th to thwart Ortiz’s sizzling finish.