[Winners Club] Hovland's Perfect Iron Shots on Two Holes

Viktor Hovland (Norway) showcased precise iron shots over two holes to claim victory.

Viktor Hovland is making a chip shot on the 18th hole of the 4th round at the Valspar Championship. Palm Harbor - Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News

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On the 23rd (local time), at the Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course (par 71, 7,352 yards) in Palm Harbor, Florida, USA, Hovland secured a one-stroke win (11-under 273) at the PGA Tour Valspar Championship (total prize money $8.7 million). This marked his 7th career win, his first in 1 year and 7 months since the August 2023 PGA Tour FedExCup Playoffs (PO) Tour Championship, with a winner's prize of $1,566,000 (approximately 2.3 billion KRW).

Hovland faced a challenge from Justin Thomas (USA) on the day. Thomas, who made 7 birdies over 15 holes, briefly took the top spot on the leaderboard. However, Hovland responded on the 16th hole (par 4) by hitting a driving iron tee shot with a Titleist U505 to secure a birdie. On the 17th hole (par 3), from 222 yards, he used a Ping i210 iron for a perfect tee shot and sank a 3.3-meter birdie putt to retake the lead.

Hovland's greens in regulation percentage on the final day was 72.22%. In a post-win interview, he said, "I have been working on improving my swing with my coach," adding, "I was hesitant about playing in this tournament, but I’m really glad I did."

Driver: Ping G425 LST (9 degrees)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade SIM Ti (15 degrees)

Irons: Titleist U505 (#3), Ping i210 (#4-PW)

Wedges: Ping s159 (50, 56 degrees), Ping Glide 2.0 (60 degrees)

Putter: Ping PLD DS 72 Prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1 *Source: PGA Tour

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