Viktor Hovland stuns Scottie Scheffler with playoff birdie to win Travelers Championship

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.

That conversation is going to last at least another week, especially with the way it happened.

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Viktor Hovland defeated Scheffler on the first hole in a sudden-death playoff Monday morning at TPC River Highlands to win the Travelers Championship after both players finished regulation tied at 21 under on Sunday.

And he did it in a great way.

Both players found the fairway on the first playoff hole. Both players hit their approaches within 10 feet. Then Hovland poured in his birdie putt and put all the pressure on the best golfer in the world.

Scheffler had a short birdie putt to extend the playoff.

He missed.

Yes, really.

That’s the shocking part. Scheffler forced the playoff Sunday night by draining an 8 1/2-foot par putt on the 72nd hole, then came back Monday morning and missed from about half that distance with the tournament on the line again.

Golf is weird. Golf is cruel. Even for the best player in the world.

The Travelers Championship was forced to a rare Monday finish after weather and darkness prevented the tournament from being decided on Sunday. The playoff began on the par-4 18th hole, and Hovland wasted no time in ending it.

For the Norwegian, it was a massive victory after refusing to let Scheffler retire during a tense, rain-delayed final round.

For Scheffler, it meant another close call.

Scottie Scheffler reacts after missing a putt on the 18th green in a playoff during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

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.

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But Hovland stopped him from turning another close call into a trophy.

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.

Scheffler had a ho-hum front nine in the final round, 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 back into 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, was still two behind. But that’s when heavy rain began to pound TPC River Highlands, forcing an 83-minute weather delay.

After the delay, Hovland completely turned the tournament around.

Viktor Hovland of Norway reacts after winning the Travelers Championship in a playoff at TPC River Highlands. (Jordan Bank/Getty Images)

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 on his way to another 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 Hovland’s potential tournament-winning putt leaked par at the end. He chipped in for par, meaning Scheffler had to make his putt to send the pair to a playoff.

Scheffler drained the putt, gave an enthusiastic fist pump and shook Hovland’s hand before the two players returned Monday morning to settle it.

In front of a pretty big crowd, especially for a Monday morning in Connecticut, Hovland finished the job to secure his eighth career PGA Tour victory and first since the 2025 Valspar Championship last March.

What made the win so impressive is how he did it. Hovland looked like he was out of it when he bogeyed No. 10 and Scheffler birdied. That turned a tie at the top of the rankings into a two-shot deficit to the world’s best player with eight holes remaining.

But he never gave up. He made three consecutive birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15, the latter two coming immediately after a weather delay of nearly an hour and a half.

Then he came back Monday and beat Scheffler head-to-head. He saw Scheffler hit his approach within six feet and followed by hitting his own arrow. He buried a clutch putt, thinking he had to make it or the tournament was over.

That’s some serious mental strength, especially for a player who has had a rollercoaster season.

Hovland has had some solid results this season, including top-20 finishes at several signature events (WM Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational, PLAYERS Championship) and a top-20 finish at the Masters. But he failed to make the cut at both the PGA Championship and the US Open.

For Scheffler, it was another high finish that did not result in a win. Technically, he’s in the middle of a long drought, at least by his lofty standards. He has not gone 13 consecutive tournaments without a win since 2023.

Of course, Scheffler’s 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.

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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 and forced him to make one more putt.

This time Scheffler missed.

There’s still nothing wrong with Scottie Scheffler.

But Hovland was better when it mattered most.