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Viktor Hovland made a remarkable birdie on the 17th hole in the final round of the Valspar Championship, en route to his first PGA Tour win since August of 2023. The former third-ranked golfer in the world birdied two of the final three holes to defeat Justin Thomas by a single shot.
On the difficult par-three 17th hole, Hovland put his tee shot on the green, just under 12 feet from the hole. Hovland and Thomas were tied for the lead as Hovland lined up his putt on 17. Thomas had a three shot lead over Hovland just a few holes before. Hovland's birdies at 14 and 16, along with Thomas' bogey at 16, tied them for the lead.
Hovland made the putt on 17 to take a one-shot lead. NUCLR GOLF on X reposted the PGA Tour's video of Hovland's putt to his 215,000+ followers.
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"[siren emoji] Hovland drains at 17. Never a doubt," NUCLR GOLF's post reads.
Hovland and Thomas both made bogey on 18 and Hovland won by a stroke. Thomas and Hovland were both searching for their first win in a long time, with Thomas' last win coming at the 2022 PGA Championship. Sunday was Hovland's first win since the 2023 Tour Championship.
Hovland ends winless drought, Thomas' drought continues after heartbreaking finish
Viktor Hovland's win on Sunday ended nearly a year and a half of struggles since winning the 2023 Tour Championship. Hovland won three times in 2023, ultimately being ranked as high as No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Heading into this week, Hovland was ranked 19th in the world after a poor 2024 season combined with an abysmal start to 2025. Hovland's best finish this year coming into this week was tied for 22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Hovland finished tied for 36th at The Sentry, which was the first week of January. After the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Hovland missed the cut at the next three events before this week's Valspar Championship.
The missed cuts came at The Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.
Justin Thomas is still in search of his first win in nearly three years after a heartbreaking finish at the Valspar Championship. Thomas led by three shots with a few holes to play before making a bogey on two of his final three holes.
Despite not capturing a win in 2025, he's played some good golf this year. Sunday was his fourth top 10 finish this year and he's made the cut in every tournament he's played in. The Valspar was his second runner-up finish this year, with the other coming at The American Express in California. At The American Express, he lost to Sepp Straka by two shots.
