“I’m just gonna have to hit an 8-iron” – Viktor Hovland opens up on navigating a tricky line on No. 14 with ease at BMW Championship
After an inspirational win in the BMW Championship, Viktor Hovland opened up on his outing in the final round at the Olympia Fields North Course. His 10 birdies, including seven in the last nine holes, were the highlights of his course-record final round.
While addressing a press conference after his spectacular win, Hovland opened up about his tricky shot in the 14th hole. He explained the course of events that happened at the tournament, saying:
"But one of the memorable shots on the back nine. I pulled my tee shot left on 14 and I had a pretty tricky line in there in the rough. And I said to Shay [his caddie] '9-iron's not going to get there. I'm going to have to just hit an 8-iron and it's going to come out low and hopefully, it releases out the perfect amount."
After Viktor Hovland hit the shot off his tee, the ball landed on the rough. The Norwegian golfer then pulled off his 8-irons and shot the ball to land exactly near the hole. Later on, in the putt shot, he comfortably sunk the ball into the hole and moved up in the ladder.
Speaking on his day at the Olympia Fields North Couse, he said that it was one of the days where the perfect shots summarized his whole round of 9 under 61.
"And soon as I hit it, I just need, 'Go, go, go, go.' I don't know where it landed, but I just saw it trickling up there and then it goes to a foot. So it was just one of those days and that was maybe the perfect shot that encapsulated the whole round," Viktor Hovland concluded.
Hovland defeated Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick by a margin of two strokes to lift his fifth PGA Tour title, the BMW Championship.
What did Viktor Hovland earn after winning the BMW Championship?
The Norwegian star professional golfer earned a whopping $3.6 million paycheck for his win at the Olympia Fields North Course. This is equivalent to the paycheck he received earlier this year after winning the 2023 Memorial Tournament.
Viktor Hovland also earned 2,000 FedEx Cup points, which landed him in the second position in the rankings with 4,024 points. He is just 194 points behind Scottie Scheffler who has 4,218 points. He will also receive a -8 score advantage entering the final playoff event, the 2023 Tour Championship.
The BMW Championship win also earned the 25-year-old golfer 50.22 points in the Official World Golf Rankings. He is currently placed fifth and is just 0.14 average points behind fourth-ranked Patrick Cantlay.
The 2023 Tour Championship is scheduled to be played at East Lake Golf Course, Atlanta, and will start on August 24. The final FedEx Cup playoff event will feature only the top 30 players from the rankings.