'Taekwon Sonyeon' Hoblan "Mexico 2 Consecutive Wins"... Home Course Ortiz 2nd Place

Worldwide Technology Championship Title Defense, Ortiz's 170 Million Won Putt on the 18th Hole

Victor Hovland is holding the trophy and posing for a commemorative photo immediately after winning the Worldwide Technology Championship. Riviera Maya (Mexico) = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] Viktor Hovland (Norway), ranked 17th in the world, secured his first win of the new season early on.

On the 8th (Korean time), at the El Camaleon Golf Club (par 71, 7,017 yards) in Riviera Maya, Mexico, during the final day of the 7th event of the 2021/2022 PGA Tour season, the Worldwide Technology Championship (total prize money $7.2 million), Hovland added 4 under par to achieve a 4-stroke victory (23 under par 261). This tournament was the very venue where he earned his second career win last year (Mayakoba Golf Classic). Along with defending his title, he claimed his third career win after 11 months and earned $1,296,000 (15.32 billion KRW) in prize money.

Hovland set an amateur scoring record at the 2019 US Open with a remarkable 4 under par 280, the lowest in 59 years. After turning professional, he secured his card on the Korn Ferry (second-tier) Tour and immediately won the Puerto Rico Open in February last year, marking a milestone as the ‘first Norwegian PGA champion.’ Despite runner-up finishes at the Farmers Open in January and the Workday Championship in February, and third places at the Valspar Championship and Wells Fargo in May, his number of wins has been relatively scarce.

For domestic fans, it is interesting that Hovland is a Taekwondo black belt. He earned his black belt after 7 years of training as a child. He introduced, "Taekwondo helped strengthen my mental toughness." He lived in Oslo, the capital of Norway, where winters are long, harsh, and snowy. Golf is only possible for about five months from May to October. He honed his skills at indoor practice ranges and enrolled at Oklahoma State University in the US in 2016. He rose as a promising next-generation player after winning the 2018 US Amateur Championship.

Hovland surged with 9 under par the previous day to take the top spot on the leaderboard, and started the final day with a 2-stroke lead, recording 6 birdies and 2 bogeys. Birdies on holes 5, 7, 9, and 11 distanced him from his pursuers, while a bogey on hole 12 (par 4) was offset by a birdie on hole 14 (par 4), and a bogey on hole 15 (par 3) was recovered with a birdie on hole 17 (par 4). He unleashed drives up to 312 yards. Above all, his ‘stingy putting’ stood out with an average of 1.58 putts per hole. "My putting was really good this week," he said with a bright smile.

Carlos Ortiz cheers after making a 'big par' on the final 18th hole of the Worldwide Technology Championship final day. Riviera Maya (Mexico) = Getty Images / Multivitz Photo by Multivitz

Home course player Carlos Ortiz (Mexico) finished 2nd (19 under par 265), and ‘Number 7’ Justin Thomas (USA) took 3rd place (18 under par 266). Ortiz’s highlight was a ‘big par’ on the final 18th hole (par 4), where he sank a 9-meter putt following a greenside bunker shot. The 2nd place prize money was $784,800, and the tied 2nd place earned $640,800. That putt was worth $144,000 (170 million KRW). Matthew Wolff (USA), who led in the first two days with his ‘twist swing,’ settled for a tie for 5th place (16 under par 268).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.