CROMWELL, Conn. — Returning to TPC River Highlands for a Monday morning sudden-death playoff to decide the Travelers Championship, Viktor Hovland was surgical.

The confident Norwegian striped his tee shot on No. 18 to the middle of the fairway and landed on the green six feet, seven inches from the hole. Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world looking for his second win in the last three years in Cromwell, was almost identical off the tee. After Hovland sunk his putt for birdie, Scheffler took his time studying his shot from a similar line just two feet, four inches away.

When his attempt to force a second playoff hole rolled just left, the hundreds who gathered around the green were stunned, letting out a collective groan of disbelief. All except the contingent of Norwegian soccer fans, who have been by the side of the winner all week.

It was Hovland who lifted the Travelers Championship trophy on Monday morning and claimed the winner’s $3.6 million share of the tournament’s $20 million purse, plus 700 FedExCup points.

Scheffler’s second-place finish earned him $2.18 million and added 400 points to his lead in the FedExCup standings.

“It’s unbelievable,” Hovland said shortly after realizing his victory, his eighth on the PGA Tour, first since March 2025 and the first-ever with his mom, Galina, in attendance. “Especially after Scottie hits it so close there. I knew I had to bring in my best to have a chance to beat him and he’s certainly brought it out of me and couldn’t be happier.”

Hovland, 28, later joined the group of his countrymen behind the 18th hole and rowed with them, like vikings, as they’ve done to support their soccer team at the World Cup. Between shots in the playoff, the group of about 20 was singing Hovland’s name and the larger American contingent answered, respectfully, with “USA” chants.

In the end, Hovland was the first international champion at the Travelers since Russell Knox, from Scotland, in 2016.

“Obviously the home crowd was rooting for Scottie, he’s the best player in the world, we’re in the United States of America, that’s just kind of how it goes. But I thought it was super exciting. The crowds were super respectful and it just really motivated me to play better,” Hovland said. “Obviously with some Norwegian jerseys out there it brought the vibes, and I think the American crowds thought it was cool as well. I thought it made the event a lot more enjoyable, I think. So, yeah, it was just a blast to play at a great golf tournament, a great golf course, in front of great fans. And, yeah, it was an absolute blast.”

Hovland carried a one-shot lead over Scheffler into Sunday’s final round. He was having a rough go of it with four bogeys and four birdies through the first 14 holes, but he was able to reset after the 80-minute weather delay Sunday night. He birdied No. 15 to get to 21-under, where Scheffler held after finishing his round of 2-under 68 with a clutch eight-foot, eight-inch putt to force the playoff.

Having the night to reset before coming out on Monday to the 18th tee, where he’s hit great drives all week, Hovland was prepared for a challenge.

“Sometimes it’s hard to gather yourself in the moment … I mean just on the drive it’s hard to feel the same or go through the same routine, things just feel different, your legs are shaking, your hands are shaking, it’s super challenging,” Hovland said.

His drive, 293 yards down the center of the fairway, couldn’t have been better. He knew he had to make his putt, about four feet longer than Scheffler’s, to put the pressure on.

“When you get up there you see it’s one of those putts that if I make mine, his gets significantly tougher, and if I miss, he probably will make his, I don’t know. Yeah, it was definitely no gimmies there, so to put the pressure on him was awesome,” he said. “Yesterday I missed some short putts and got a little bit nervy over some putts, which I have a tendency to do at times. But it’s a new day, and when Scottie sticks it in there tight, you know, there’s no, you know, you can’t be scared of anything, you got to make the putt, that’s as simple as it gets. Just went through my routine and tried telling myself that, you know, I got this and I feel good and it just happened to roll in and I couldn’t quite believe it.”

Scheffler’s putt, one the 20-time PGA Tour winner and four-time major champion has hit many times, came in a little too hot, a little too left.

“Maybe I hit it a little firmer than I intended to. 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,” he said.

“I’ve been playing golf with Viktor for a long time. We’ve had some good battles in college and out here as a pro. He has so much talent. He hits the ball so solidly. I remember playing with him at Bay Hill a few years ago and I was just telling him, like, ‘Dude, you just hit the ball like so solid every time.’ It’s really quite impressive,” Scheffler said. “When you see a guy like that who practices as hard as he does and works as hard as he does, you’re always glad to see those people have success.”

The 26th playoff in the 75-year history of the tournament, and the 10th since 2004, took just 13 minutes.

And it was a full circle moment for the winner, who made his professional debut as an exemption at the Travelers in 2019, when he finished tied for 54th at 1-under 279. His previous best finish in the event came the next year, when he was tied for 11th at 13-under 267 in 2020.

“This is where it all started. This was my first professional event. Every time I see Andy (Bessette, Executive VP of Travelers) we kind of reminisce about it and it feels like a different lifetime ago. I feel like I’ve changed quite a bit, the world has changed quite a bit, so it’s a little bit weird to come back here and think about some of the things that happened way back then,” Hovland said. “But it’s also cool, it goes to show that, you know, I’ve come a long ways and it’s really exciting now to finally be a champion of this great event.”

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