Viktor Hovland was far from an afterthought going into the Memorial Tournament final round; he began Sunday just one shot off the lead at the intimidating Muirfield Village Golf Club and was coming off an impressive second-place finish at the PGA Championship two weeks prior. However, it was difficult to single out any one player at Jack’s Place because 21 players were within three shots of the lead.

After shooting a final two-under 70 to reach seven-under 281, the 25-year-old Norwegian player from Norway ultimately proved to be too much for the rest of the field and advanced to the playoff round alongside Denny McCarthy. Then Hovland won his fourth PGA Tour championship of his career with a seven-foot par putt in the first overtime.

“I don’t want it again,” Hovland joked with tournament host Jack Nicklaus after making the playoff putt to win for the first time in the 2022-23 season after posting six top-10s in 15 starts.

“I’ve been playing well. I’ve just been trying to stay within myself and play my own game,” Hovland said. “I just played smart and played my game and game up clutch this time. Feels even better after a few close calls in the last few months.”

Hovland’s happiness was offset by disappointment for McCarthy. After playing bogey-free all day and holding a one-shot lead going into the final regulation hole, the 30-year-old, who is vying for his first PGA Tour championship, missed the fairway left and made a bogey, dropping back into a tie with Hovland. When McCarthy missed the fairway right during the playoff, he took another bogey, which allowed Hovland to make the winning par putt.

In the most recent scheduled event of the tour, Hovland’s victory earned him the first-place prize money distribution of $3.6 million from the $20 million total purse.