Hovland Seals Thrilling Playoff Win At Memorial Tournament As McIlroy Falters

HELLO AND WELCOME

Follow all the final round action from the Memorial Tournament as it happens. Rory McIlroy is out in the final group in little over half an hour but moves are already being made by Rickie Fowler and Scottie Scheffler.

With a number of big names in contention, it promises to be a Sunday thriller from Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.

Spieth!!

There's action happening all over the course. After a poor start - two bogeys in his first four - Spieth holes out from a near-impossible position for eagle to get to -3. Could that spark a charge?

At the 10th, Jon Rahm saves par to remain -1. He'll need a storming finish and some help to have a sniff, but you never know.

Oh, Scottie

The putting of Scheffler continues to hold the World No. 1 back. He missed a five-footer on 10 for a third birdie in a row to get to -5. He's still in it but that's a setback.

That Spieth hole-out

Jordan's magic moment...

Laptop issues

Don't know if it's the unusual heat in Scotland but my laptop had a near meltdown there. Hopefully all is sorted after the old off-on.

While I was away, Scheffler made another birdie to get to -5, while Hovland holed a beauty to salvage a par at the first.

Big day for Rory begins

McIlroy is off and running on what feels like a pretty big day for the Northern Irishman. He's won 23 PGA Tour titles so it shouldn't be anything new, but given all he's been involved with of late, as well as his disastrous showing at Augusta National, this feels like a poignant 18 holes in his career.

His ability isn't in question, but his composure in these moments has let him down all too often recently. A win today would give him a huge boost heading into the final two Majors of the year.

He opts for the 3-wood off the first, launching a little cut into the right rough. 

What a miss

Fowler misses from 3ft for birdie on the 11th to get to -6. That was a huge chance to join the leaders.

McIlroy makes par, leads on his own

McIlroy's tee shot found a good lie in the rough and from there he hit the green, leaving himself about 40ft for the three.

It's a tricky one but he lags it down to tap-in range for a simple par to remain -6. With Kim and Lipsky's opening bogeys, McIlroy now leads the tournament on his own.

Hovland, McCarthy join McIlroy

McIlroy's solo lead didn't last long. First, McCarthy gets to -6 before Hovland quickly follows suit. Three shots separate the top 15, it really is anyone's to win at this point.

Another miss from Scheffler

The World No. 1 has another great chance for birdie at 14 and once again sees it pass him by. He ranks last in putting out of those who made the cut this week but is still within one of the lead due to his supremacy from tee to green.

If he can find a couple birdies coming in he'll still have a chance given how difficult Muirfield Village is playing.

Bogey for Fowler

On 11, Fowler had a chance to grab a share of the lead at -6; two holes later, a bogey drops him to -4. Such are the margins at the top.

Rory misses chance to move clear

A stunning second into the third, flirting with the water on the right that guards the green, sets McIlroy up with a six-footer to move to -7. It looks right straight off the blade and slips by the right edge. What a chance that was, he can't afford too many of them.

Scheffler to -6

After finding the par-5 15th in two, Scheffler two-putts for a birdie to join the leading group at six-under. The World No. 1 now faces the treacherous final three holes that have yielded just two birdies all day so far.

You'd think he'll need to find a way to get to -7, though, if he is to have a hope of winning.

Good boy, Rory

Unbelievable from McIlroy. His tee shot at the par-3 4th comes up woefully short and left, but he steps up and makes it from 40 yards to send the crowd wild.

The Northern Irishman takes the lead on his own at -7. Clip to follow imminently. 

Great Scott

What was I saying about the final three? Scheffler steps up on the iconic par-3 16th and shapes a beautiful draw to within inches of the cup, landing it only a few paces over the water. Fine margins. 

He'll join McIlroy when he taps in.

Rory's chip in

Here's the moment Rory took the lead on his own for a few minutes...

Fowler to -5

It's Rickie's turn to make birdie. He hits the par-5 16th in two and gives the eagle putt a good run before tapping in to get to five-under.

That has him within two of the lead so he'll need a strong finish to end his winless drought. 

Watch: How Scheffler got to -7

Just incredible...

McIlroy bogey

From 95 yards, McIlroy fires a wedge shot over the back of the par-5 5th into a tricky spot. He then fluffs a chip, leaving him 10ft to salvage a par, when he should have been giving himself a chance to make birdie.

The Northern Irishman can't convert, meaning it's a scrappy six that drops him back to -6.

Ouch

Rickie's race is officially run. The American suffers a brutal lip out for par on the 16th, dropping him to -4 with two to play.

Elsewhere, a birdie for McCarthy takes him alongside Scheffler at -7. 

Scheffler drops a shot

From the fairway on 17, Scheffler sticks his approach shot into the front-right bunker, well below the level of the green. From there the best he can do is 24ft and he is unable to save par, meaning he slips to -6 heading to the 18th tee. 

He'll likely need a birdie at the very least.

Rory to -7, Kim to -5

After a horrid start, Si Woo Kim has recovered his back-to-back birdies at five and six to get to -5.

Alongside Kim, McIlroy zips a delightful wedge shot into 7ft and also converts his birdie putt to once again grab a share of the lead at -7.

Scheffler gives himself a chance on 18

Two great shots into the last leave Scheffler 15 feet for a must-make birdie to get in the clubhouse at -7.

Elsewhere, Putnam bogeys 16 to drop to -5, while McIlroy launches his tee shot on the 7th through the fairway into the thick stuff.

Scheffler misses

The World No. 1 is in the house after failing to convert for birdie, meaning he has to settle for a closing 67 to set a target of -6 for those behind. His tee-to-green game was immense, as always, but he currently ranks last in putting for the four days. 

Alongside Scheffler, Rahm closes with a par to finish level for the tournament. 

McCarthy moves clear

For as bad as Scheffler has been on the green, McCarthy has been immense. He leads the field in putting and sinks a 13-footer on the 7th to move clear of McIlroy at -8.

Another par-5 bogey by McIlroy

That's an absolute shocker from Rory. He should be eating these par-5s up but instead he's made two sixes on them so far, and it's his inconsistent wedge game that once again lets him down.

From 87 yards, he comes up well short and can't get up-and-down for par. So, so careless. He's now two behind McCarthy.

McIlroy in trouble again, Fowler closes with bogey

McIlroy goes long on the par-3 8th into the back bunker, leaving himself a tricky up-and-down with the green running away from him. He catches too much ball and can't make the 18-footer for par, meaning it's back-to-back bogeys for the overnight leader. He's now three behind McCarthy from nowhere.

At 18, Fowler finishes with a third bogey in a row for a final-round 72. He got it to -5 and within one of the lead at the start of the back nine but couldn't maintain that momentum. Still, it's another good finish for the resurgent American.

What of Hovland?

The Norwegian needed just four putts in his first four holes as he grabbed a share of the lead but has since fallen backwards. Bogeys at the 8th and 9th dropped him to -4 but he has a chance from 7ft to get one of those shots back at the 10th.

Si Woo Stinger

A shot few of us should ever try and copy.

Rory stops the rot, Hovland makes birdie

From 176 yards, McIlroy can only stick his approach to the 9th to 39 feet. However, he does well to two-putt and halt the run of bogeys.

Up ahead at the 10th, Hovland converts his great approach shot for birdie to join McIlroy at -5.

Kim cuts McCarthy's lead

What a recovery it's been for Si Woo Kim. The Korean began his final round with three bogeys in four holes but has since cancelled them out with four birdies to get to -7 and within one of McCarthy at the top of the leaderboard.

The rise of the 7-wood

Once looked down upon, 7-woods have become all the rage. Viktor Hovland has just piped one into the par-5 11th to about 30 feet for eagle. If he makes it, he'll be just one behind McCarthy, and he deserves to for the second shot alone.

Hovland to -6

Hovland's eagle putt slips by the left edge, but the birdie takes him to -6 and right back in the hunt for victory. 

Elsewhere, McIlroy leaves himself more than 40 feet on the 10th after another poor wedge shot.

Huge save for McIlroy

Rory's birdie putt leaves him work to do for par. Miss and that could be his challenge over, but he steps up and makes the eight-footer to remain at -5. 

Up next, the par-5 11th. 

McCarthy two clear

Kim's bogey at 10 means McCarthy leads by two again, despite failing to capitalise on the par-5 11th. The leader is also in a little trouble on the par-3 12th so could take a step back towards the chasing pack.

Among them, McIlroy is in great shape on 11 after piping a drive 371 yards and finding the green from 220 yards on the par-5. 

Hovland bogey

The Norwegian fluffs a chip three feet in front of him on the 12th, leading to a bogey four that drops him back to -5.

McIlroy makes birdie, McCarthy salvages par

Rory coaxes his 28-footer down to a few feet and makes the birdie putt on 11 to get back to level for the day and -6 for the tournament. 

Up ahead on the 12th, McCarthy has about 15 feet for par and slots it right in the middle to remain at -8. He has been incredible with the flatstick today.

Rory long again

After birdieing the 11th, McIlroy is in trouble on the par-3 12th, doing what so many have done before him and hitting it over the green. With water guarding the front, it is the lesser of the two evils but leaves him with a job to get it within 10 feet for par. 

Bogey for McIlroy

McIlroy's recovery shot is incredible. From the downslope he slides the club right under the ball, landing it in the rough, and running it down towards the hole. It looks like it might drop but lips out and leaves him six feet for par.

He's unable to convert, pulling his putt left to fall three behind again. 

Denny doing all the right things

McCarthy is answering every question being asked of him. He comes up short of the green on 13 but chips it to kick-in distance to maintain his advantage.

McCarthy in close at 14

All the momentum is with McCarthy, who could move three clear on 14 after a great second from 127 yards into about five feet. His putting has been incredible today so you'd back him to tidy that up with little fuss.

On 13, McIlroy three-putts from the back of the green, pulling his par putt from a few feet to all but end his hopes.

What a break for McCarthy

McCarthy misses his birdie putt on 14 to get to -9 and looks to be in huge trouble on 15 after pulling his drive miles left. It's heading into lost-ball territory before clattering into a tree and somehow ending up in the middle of the fairway on the par-5.

A massive break for the leader that could prove decisive. 

Rors roars

McIlroy pulls his second from 130 yards on the 14th into the bunker and makes his feelings clear. "No," he yells, as his challenge continues to unravel. Another disappointing Sunday for the Northern Irishman.

McIlroy back to -3, Kim doubles

One by one, the challengers are falling away. McIlroy makes it three bogeys in a row on 14, while his playing partner, Si Woo Kim, makes a double to drop to -4.

Up ahead on 15, McCarthy holes another lengthy par putt to stay -8 after that huge slice of luck off the tee. He's been a machine on the greens today.

McCarthy in trouble on 16

Understandably, the leader doesn't take the water on at 16, hitting his tee shot on the par-3 into the back bunker. It'll be a tricky up-and-down from there, especially with the pressure of a potential tournament win on his shoulders.

On 15, McIlroy and Kim give themselves chances for bounce back birdies.

McCarthy's putting clinic

The leader is making eight-footers look like tap-ins here. He makes his fourth up-and-down in five holes to remain at -8.

On 15, Kim and McIlroy convert their birdie putts to get to -5 and -4 respectively. They'll need a strong finish and some serious help from those in front. 

Hovland!!

Two proper golf shots put Viktor safely aboard the 17th green, albeit more than 25 feet away. It's a slippery left-to-righter but he pours it in for the first birdie of the day on the penultimate hole to get to -7 and within one of McCarthy.

A birdie at 18 and he's the favourite.

Two-horse race

Hovland blocks his tee shot well right on 18 but gets a good break as his ball bounces back into a flat lie in the rough. He hoists an iron shot into the air that lands on the green, but such is the firmness of the surfaces, it bounds over the back. You'd think he needs to make a par at worst to have a chance.

Behind, McCarthy hits two great shots into 17, leaving himself about 20 feet for birdie.

Brilliant from Hovland - in at -7

The lie isn't great through the back of 18 but the Norwegian does well to nudge his chip down to about five feet. A tricky right-to-lefter remains with Jack watching on, but he is up to the task and sets the new target at -7.

McCarthy's birdie putt on 17 slides by before he steps up on 18 and finds the left rough. It'll be a tough second from there.

Drama

McCarthy's lie means he can only advance his ball down the fairway on 18, leaving himself well short of the green in two. He'll do very well to make the par required to win outright. Don't go anywhere.

McCarthy on the green with a putt to win

The American safely finds the green with his third into 18 but will have some 20 feet to clinch the title. He's putted like a god all day - can he find one more?

Hovland watches on...

Misses - we're going to a playoff

McCarthy's putt to win is curling towards the hole but it's got a little too much pace and runs four feet by. This now for the playoff, and to his credit, he makes no mistake.

For the second week in a row on the PGA Tour, we'll need more than 72 holes to determine the winner.

McIlroy finishes with par, Kim birdies

A fairly dismal day for McIlroy comes to an end. The Northern Irishman began with a share of the lead but a closing 75 leaves him four shots out of the playoff. His challenge unravelled in the back nine but the writing was on the wall well before that, as his struggles with a wedge in hand once again proved costly.

As for Kim, five bogeys and a double gave him too much to do, but credit where its due, a birdie at 18 got him back to -5 and into fourth on his own.

Back to 18 we go

Hovland has the honour and hits a good tee shot but might face a tricky second as his ball appears to have nestled up against the collar of semi-rough.

Next up, McCarthy blocks his tee shot right of the bunkers and looks to have settled into a horror lie.

Advantage Hovland, just...

Hovland on green, McCarthy short

McCarthy comes up just short and his ball rolls back down the slope guarding the front of the green, leaving him a difficult up-and-down. He hits it well to about 12 feet for par.

Hovland is up next and is able to find the putting surface, albeit a good 60 feet away. The Norwegian lags it down to four feet or so. Big moments ahead.

McCarthy lips out

With a chance to pile the pressure on, McCarthy hits a great putt that catches a chunk of the left edge and lips out.

Hovland with a putt to win...

Hovland is the champion!!

Viktor makes no mistake, burying the right-to-left putt for his fourth PGA Tour win! 

The winning moment

Here's how Hovland sealed the deal.