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GOOD IN DUBAI: Viktor Hovland on the 18th hole during Saturday’s round. Photo: Andrew Redington / Getty Images Europe
There were some small mistakes by Viktor Hovland (23) during the final round at the end of the season on the European Tour to claim victory, but the Norwegian ended the 2020 golf year with another top position.
There were only three bogeys in Viktor Hovland’s first 54 holes at the DP World Tour Championship, but in the last 18 there were three new bogeys due to slightly too shaky play and a couple of simple mistakes. As a result, he failed to achieve Norway’s first victory on the European men’s golf circuit.
With six birdies, it was still a three-shot round below par, leading him to finish in a split third place, two shots behind winner Matthew Fitzpatrick (26). This results in a premium payment of US $ 432,500, which corresponds to around NOK 3.8 million for Hovland. The Norwegian also remains in the top 15 of the world ranking.
– It’s not bitter. It will be the wrong word, but I felt I should have had a better chance of winning today. I had a couple of bad decisions here and there, and a couple of bad laps, but otherwise it was very good, Hovland told NTB during a post-round digital press conference.
– There were a couple of bad club choices. All the birds were two or three meters away. Stable, but there were too many ghosts, he explained later.
Now the Christmas holidays at home in Norway await Hovland, after a fantastic year for the Norwegian golf star.
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Fitzpatrick walked away from the competition early with five birdies in the first seven holes on Sunday. In the end, it was all about controlling the lead for the Englishman, but with today’s first bogey on the 17th hole, he suddenly had only one stroke left before the last hole.
With a pair on the last hole, Fitzpatrick won the tournament, who also won the same tournament in 2016. For the victory, he receives 3 million dollars, just under 26.5 million Norwegian crowns.
Lee Westwood finished second and won the final race of the European Tour Race to Dubai.
Viktor Hovland took his second PGA Tour victory when he won the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico last week, but he didn’t have much time to celebrate the victory. On Tuesday, he was in Dubai after a long journey, and gradually throughout the week, Hovland has played closer to the lead.
The DP World Tour Championship is the season finale of the European Tour, where basically only the 60 who have scored the most points on the European Tour during the season can participate. Hovland was in 113th place prior to the tournament, but as a result of the crown pandemic, participation was opened for members of the European Tour, who were in the top 75 in the world rankings, something that Hovland has been since their first victory on the PGA Tour in Puerto Rico in February.
Several of the best players on the PGA Tour were also in Dubai, where 13 players from the top 50 of the world ranking participated.
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Before the final day, Hovland was in joint fourth place, just one stroke behind a leading trio with, among others, Matthew Fitzpatrick.
Hovland started well with a birdie on holes 1 and 3 and had a split lead for a while, but Fitzpatrick started better than all. Five birdies in the first seven holes drove the Englishman away early in the battle for victory, an advantage he held until the end.
After Saturday’s incredibly accurate round, Hovland struggled further with his tackle on Sunday and was “just” one shot below par the day after nine holes. With a birdie on holes 10 and 11, he played his way back to the close fight, but a bad bunker shot on hole 13 led to today’s third bogey for Hovland.
The Norwegian responded with a birdie on the 14th hole and had several good birdie chances on the final holes, but he didn’t take care of them and finished in third place.
