Five things we learned from the Memorial Tournament: Viktor Hovland wins big and Rory McIlroy falters again

Updated 05/06/2023 at 23:43 GMT

Viktor Hovland was victorious at the Memorial Tournament to claim his fourth victory on the PGA Tour after a string of near misses, while Rory McIlroy was left to rue another poor round after being tied for the lead. These are among five things we learned, which also include a crazy week for Scottie Scheffler and an honest admission from Billy Horschel.

'It felt like a major' - Hovland 'proud' after first win on US soil at Memorial Tournament

The latest elevated event saw the world’s best battle it out for glory at Muirfield Village for the Memorial Tournament, where one of the form golfers got the job done for the first time on U.S. soil.

Viktor Hovland wins big

The Norwegian star has seemingly been trending in the right direction forever but hasn’t quite secured PGA TOUR victory No.4. Until now.

The Memorial Tournament

'It felt like a major' - Hovland 'proud' after first win on US soil at Memorial Tournament

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05/06/2023 at 23:42

After a series of strong results and near misses, including a tied 2nd and tied 7th at the U.S. PGA Championship and The Masters respectively, Hovland stayed patient to get the biggest win of his career at Jack’s place, affectionately named after tournament host Jack Nicklaus. A par at the first play-off hole after a dramatic final round proved enough to see off Denny McCarthy and ensure a bumper pay day of US$3.6 million.

The ball-striking machine was able to rely on his once maligned short game to assist him on his way to victory, which propelled the 25-year-old to a career high of World No.5.

"I’ve been playing well," Hovland said.

"I’ve just been trying to stay within myself and play my own game. It feels even better after a few close calls the last few months.

"I didn’t feel I hit it my best this week but I just played smart and really relied on my short game. I putted great. It's a little bit surreal but obviously playing Jack's course and winning it, and for him to be able to see it, he shook my hand and gave me a few words of encouragement, which was pretty awesome."

Rory McIlroy falters despite another Top 10

The Northern Irishman came into Sunday tied for the lead but another poor round, as has been the way recently with his form, saw him drop back for a tied 7th finish.

On his 12th visit to the Memorial Tournament, McIlroy had been determined to claim victory at this prestigious event and secure the famous Jack Nicklaus handshake, and he was well on his way to realising that teeing off on Sunday.

Instead of a handshake however, McIlroy was offered a telling few words on the 18th green with Nicklaus saying “we have to sit down and chat sometime” after the World No. 3 made seven bogeys during a horrendous round of 75.

There were flickers of magic throughout the event, including a chip-in on the 4th on Sunday to claim the outright lead but it was clear to see, visibly and audibly, that McIlroy was fighting his game. His driving looked to be in better shape, but the wedge game was ropey with a series of mishaps down the stretch.

McIlroy remains winless since January, but the 34-year-old insisted on taking the positives out of his week in Ohio.

"I was one-over through nine [and three behind McCarthy], and Denny was at 8-under for the tournament; it was just -- it's hard to chase on that golf course the way it's playing.

"I hit a couple of loose shots on the back nine that at least I know where they're coming from, which is good, but it's probably -- it's a step in the right direction."

Scottie Scheffler’s crazy week

The current World No.1 put on a clinic from tee-to-green on his way to a third place finish, but it could have been so much better had his putting not failed him.

The stats behind his performance documented just how wild his week truly was. The American ranked top of the field for strokes gained tee-to-green, with a whopping 20.69 strokes better off than the field’s average score last week. The second-best ball striking performance of anyone in the last 20 years on the PGA Tour.

On the other side of the coin however, Scheffler ranked dead last in putting, at -8.49 strokes under the field average. The 26-year-old missed a whole host of short putts for birdie on Sunday, yet still managed to finish right up near the top of the leaderboard.

The eventual loser of the play-off, Denny McCarthy, had the best putting performance of the week. If Scheffler had McCarthy’s numbers, coupled with his own insane tee-to-green stats, he would’ve won the Memorial Tournament by 18 shots.

The week certainly had Scheffler perplexed.

“Sometimes those putts go in and sometimes they don’t. Jon [Rahm] and I, we were kind of joking after the round on Friday how bad we were both putting. But we both were thinking the same thing, that some of those putts look like they’re going in and about two feet away you’re ready to go pick it up out of the hole and then it just doesn’t fall.

“It’s confusing. It’s frustrating. I’m pretty frustrated with it right now.”

Honest Billy Horschel lets it all out

The defending champion has struggled big time this season and didn’t shy away from that during his pre-tournament presser.

He admitted “it’s been the hardest year” of his 14 on Tour but he was hopeful of a change of fortune due to the amount of hard work he has been putting in off the course.

Unfortunately for Horschel, his struggles reared their ugly head. An opening round of 84, 12-over par was one of the worst rounds of his career. No birdies, six bogeys and three doubles.

To his credit, Horschel fronted up and spoke with the media where he became tearful after laying it all out.

"It's tough right now. I'm working really hard, trying to do the right things, and the team's doing everything really well. It sucked. Sort of thought I didn't hit it very good in the pro-am and even after the round it wasn't bad. I mean, on video it looks good. Technically it's not that far off," the 36-year-old explained.

"But I'm not able to hit the cut the way I want. I can't get the ball to start left the way I want. So then when it comes down to having to be more precise on a course like this, it's tough. I'll keep working. As much as I would love to throw in the towel and not come out (on Friday), that's just not in me. I'm just not one of those players.”

Despite missing the cut, Horschel displayed some real grit and determination to improve by 12 shots on Friday.

Muirfield Village bites back

Much was made of the Nicklaus designed course ahead of the tournament’s start, with every hole having another redesign not too long ago. It’s a track that notoriously ranks as one of the toughest all year and this season it was no different. In fact, it was even harder with the warm, dry weather playing a major factor in toughening the conditions.

The added length to the par-3 16th irked many, especially Jason Day who was caught on a hot mic during the broadcast. Awkwardly though, Nicklaus was in the booth providing commentary at the time and heard what the Australian had to say.

“What did he say? Stupid hole?”

Nicklaus did find it amusing however, admitting he may well be right.

Day wasn’t the only one to suffer struggles at Murifled last week, in fact many others had far deeper cuts to show. Chad Ramey recorded a 13, Dylan Frittelli was 15-over after 14 holes before withdrawing, Horschel with his aforementioned 84, and the likes of McIlroy and Schauffele peppering in big numbers highlighted how much of a beast the track was.

England’s Matt Wallace, who led momentarily during Round 1, jokingly had a few parting words for Nicklaus.

“Well, if I see Jack, I'll tell him those last three holes are playing brutally hard.

“So, you don't need to make them any longer … keep it as it is, Jack, it's tough enough.”

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