CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Viktor Hovland got all the validation he needed Monday that his game was on track again, and a whole lot more.He beat Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the Travelers Championship, had both parents from Norway watch him win for the first time and even did the “row” with the Norwegian soccer fans who cheered him all the way to the surprising end.Hovland capped off a gritty rally when he made a 7-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole and won the Travelers when Scheffler missed a 4-foot birdie putt.“Winning in the playoff against Scottie — best player in the world — that was pretty satisfying,” said Hovland, who won for the first time since the Valspar Championship in March 2025.The surprise was Scheffler going from a big advantage — an 8-iron to 4 feet on the 18th on the first playoff hole — to missing a hard-sliding putt on the high side that made Hovland a winner.“Maybe I hit it a little firmer than I intended to,” said Scheffler, whose putt caught the left edge and rolled out some 7 feet by the hole. “It looked like it got pretty far by the hole and I was playing it outside the hole, so I hit it down my line, just maybe the speed was a touch off.”
It was a big disappointment for Scheffler, who made Monday possible by making an 8-foot par putt on the 72nd hole in near darkness to force the playoff.
