For most professional golfers, a five-month gap between PGA Tour wins barely qualifies as a drought.
For world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, that’s long enough to make people wonder if something is wrong.
The travel championship made that notion look pretty silly, though Scheffler still has to wait until Monday morning to see if the drought ends.
Scheffler and Viktor Hovland finished tied for regulation at 21-under Sunday at TPC River Highlands, setting up a rare Monday playoff at the Travelers Championship after weather and darkness prevented the tournament from being decided before the end of the day.
Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler shake hands with their caddies on the 18th green after completing the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
The playoffs are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET on the par-4 18th hole. The Travelers Championship playoff format is sudden death, meaning the player with the lowest score on a playoff hole wins. If Scheffler and Hovland tie the gap, they keep going until someone finally splits.
For Scheffler, this means that the winless streak is not over yet.
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For Hovland, it means another chance to take down the best golfer on the planet after refusing to let Scheffler pull away during a tense, rain-delayed final round.
Scheffler entered the Travelers with just one win in 2026, which came all the way back in January at The American Express. Of course, “just a win” does a lot of work in that sentence.
It’s not like Scheffler has played poorly this season. On the contrary, in fact. The world’s best player had eight top-five finishes in his first 13 starts this season, including his win at The American Express and runner-up finishes at the Masters, RBC Heritage and Cadillac Championship. He finished third at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and was fourth at the US Open last week.
Now he has another chance to turn a close call into a trophy.
But he has to sleep on it first.
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Scheffler started the last round one shot behind Hovland after a wild first three days in Connecticut. He opened with a 64, nearly shot a historic 59 Friday before settling for a 60, then posted a 67 Saturday, leaving him in solo second place, one back of Hovland.
From there, it looked like Scheffler had a familiar script in front of him.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States acknowledges the crowd after birdieing the 10th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, on June 28, 2026. (Jordan Bank/Getty Images)
The best golfer on the planet had 18 holes to chase another trophy.
Instead, Hovland arranged for the Travelers Championship to use more than 72 holes.
Scheffler, who rarely needs help from other players, got early help from Hovland. The Norwegian, who birdied 18 on Saturday to card a 64 and take the lead from Scheffler heading into the final round, bogeyed his first hole on Sunday to drop back into a tie with Scheffler.
Scheffler had a ho-hum front nine, making a birdie and a bogey for an even-par 35. Hovland dropped a stroke on the front with a 36, allowing a number of players to remain in the tournament. Collin Morikawa shot a 61 in the final round, leading the clubhouse at 20 under several hours before Scheffler and Hovland finished.
For a while, it looked like Morikawa might be the player Scheffler was going to beat.
Then Hovland made his move.
Scheffler birdied Nos. 10 and 13 to move to 21-under and take a one-shot lead over Morikawa’s clubhouse number. Hovland, who also birdied No. 13, and US Open winner Wyndham Clark still trailed by two, but Scheffler appeared to be in control of the tournament when heavy rain began to pound TPC River Highlands, forcing a weather delay.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States watches from the 13th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, on June 28, 2026. (Jordan Bank/Getty Images)
After the delay, Hovland completely reversed the momentum.
He birdied No. 14 to pull within one, then added another birdie on No. 15 to take a share of the lead. Suddenly, Scheffler was no longer coasting to his 21st PGA Tour victory. He tried to survive Hovland’s late charge.
Scheffler had his own chance to regain control, but his birdie putt on No. 17 slipped out, leaving the two players tied heading into the 72nd hole.
Both players hit solid approach shots on No. 18, but Scheffler found himself a bit further away than Hovland. The American gave it too much pace, sending it well past the hole and leaving himself 8 1/2 feet back for par.
It wouldn’t have mattered if Hovland drained his 25-foot birdie putt, but it just leaked well out of the hole at the end. That meant Scheffler had to make his putt to send the pair to a playoff.
Is there any doubt about what happened next? Scheffler drained the putt, gave an enthusiastic fist pump and shook Hovland’s hand as the two almost certainly exchanged “See you tomorrow.”
It will be the PGA Tour’s first Monday playoff since Rory McIlroy defeated JJ Spaun in a three-hole aggregate playoff at the 2025 Players Championship last March. This one will be much simpler. Scheffler and Hovland return to the 18th hole Monday morning, and the first player to win a playoff hole wins the tournament.
For Scheffler, the situation is familiar in one way and unusual in another.
He has been here before with the Travellers. In 2024, Scheffler defeated his friend Tom Kim in a playoff for his first win at TPC River Highlands. It only took Scheffler one hole to beat Kim.
It’s a track that has been kind to Scheffler after a rough start. After missing the cut in his first trip to Connecticut in 2020 and finishing 47th in 2021, he turned the event into one of his best stops on Tour.
Scheffler finished 13th in 2022, fourth in 2023, won in 2024, finished sixth last year and now has another chance to win again in 2026.
Pretty good.
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Still, the drought technically continues.
That’s the weird thing about Scheffler right now.
His dry spells would be career-best stretches for almost anyone else. He keeps putting himself near the top of the rankings, keeps racking up top-five finishes and keeps making deep Sunday runs at golf’s biggest events.
But when the bar is so high, close isn’t enough.
Scheffler came to TPC River Highlands looking like he was ready to end any talk of a dry spell before it got too loud. Instead, Hovland dragged him all the way into Monday.
Now, one more hole, or perhaps several, will determine whether Scheffler’s drought finally ends or extends to another week.
Regardless, the larger point is pretty clear.
Win or lose Monday, there’s nothing wrong with Scottie Scheffler.
