One day after taking home $3.6 million at the Memorial, Viktor Hovland caddies for former roommate on golf's longest day
Viktor Hovland swept a fantastic victory at the 2023 Memorial Tournament after an intense playoff against Denny McCarthy. The Muirfield Village Golf Club erupted in applause as Hovland parred the very first hole to win the seven-under-par tie playoff. It was a sweet victory for Hovland, who finished second at the PGA Championship.
Walking away with a whopping $3.6 million, one would expect Hovland to celebrate his weekend in style. Instead, the golfer woke up on Monday and went straight back to Ohio. The reason? Viktor Hovland is caddying for his former golf teammate Zach Bauchou, who is attempting to qualify for the U.S. Open.
The 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Open is currently being held at the Lakes Golf & Country Club in Colombus, Ohio. The U.S. Open will be held next week at the Los Angeles Country Club.
Viktor Hovland and Zach Bauchou, the golf teammates from Oklahoma State
Zach Bauchou and Viktor Hovland were teammates at Oklahoma State, playing together on the 2018 NCAA Team. Bauchou was the second-team All-American that year and has also played in five PGA Tour events, including the Korn Ferry Tour and the Mexican Open.
Hovland on the other hand, has now taken four wins on the PGA Tour. It has now moved him to fourth place on the FedEx Cup rankings and to the position of World No. 5. Speaking about his win at the Memorial Tournament, Hovland said (via the Guardian):
“It feels even better after a few close calls the last few months. I didn’t really feel like I hit it my best the whole week, I just played really smart, played conservatively, really relied on my short game and I putted awesome. It’s fun to win one of these things without just ball-striking it to death. Now I can kind of rely on some other strengths as well.”
The weekend saw the Jack Nicklaus course being a rather hard one to navigate. While Viktor Hovland took first, Denny McCarthy took second and Scottie Scheffler finished in sole third place. It was a disappointing weekend for McIlroy, who despite leading at one point in the final round, finished T7.