Viktor Hovland needed just one hole on Monday morning to defeat Scottie Scheffler in a playoff and win the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.
Hovland went into the playoff at the final signature event of the year as the underdog, with the world number one winning in Connecticut two years ago. On that occasion, he defeated Tom Kim on the first additional hole.
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And it seemed that history was about to repeat itself, with Scheffler hitting a fantastic approach to three feet on the 18th hole.
However, Hovland replied with a superb iron shot of his own. And the Norwegian piled the pressure on by making his birdie putt.
The PGA Tour should make four-hole playoffs mandatory for events that go into Monday
For the second time this season, Scheffler was defeated by a European Ryder Cup hero in a signature event. The 30-year-old’s putt was too firm and barely caught the lip of the hole as it went by.
The Travelers Championship playoff was over in less than 15 minutes. It felt like the PGA Tour missed an opportunity.
It is perhaps time for the PGA Tour to introduce a rule that ensures that any Monday playoff is contested over a minimum of four holes.
A sudden-death playoff on a Monday is brutal, particularly for the player who loses out.
While Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland would have been well rested, they would have surely been sharper had they had 18 holes under their belt before the playoff.
It is hard to imagine that Scheffler – who would have practiced his putting before heading out – would have missed that putt had he been put in that scenario on Sunday evening.
A four-hole playoff would have at least given Scheffler the chance to recover from an early mistake.
A four-hole playoff would fit perfectly on the new-look PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is heading into a new era right now. The changes announced by Brian Rolapp ahead of the Travelers Championship are designed to help the tour maximise its potential.
Golf has looked to lean into the entertainment industry more and more in recent years, with the introduction of TGL and with Full Swing on Netflix.
While it is less than ideal when it comes to television, it is surely better in almost every single way, including for the fans, if everyone knows that they are going to see at least four holes of golf if a PGA Tour event needs a Monday playoff.
Some players may not like the idea, particularly if they have already contested one or two holes of a sudden death playoff on Sunday evening.
However, it would be a real disappointment if Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler ended up in a Monday playoff and it was over inside 15 minutes.
Those duels could provide box office viewing for golf fans. That is exactly what the new-look PGA Tour should be striving for.
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