Amateur champion reached 19 under par for the week and held off all-comers by at least two shots to claim the BMW International Open title.
Not incidentally, in the process of ticking yet another box in a professional career still just two years old, Hovland became the first Norwegian to finish first on the Old World circuit.
On a day when former U.S, Open and PGA champion Martin Kaymer made 10 birdies to match the low score of the week , Hovland was, for long enough, relatively becalmed.
Indeed, when Kaymer holed-out for one last dip under par on the 18th green, he was tied with Hovland on 17 under par.
Having begun the day with a three-shot edge and fully recovered from getting sand in his eye that forced his withdrawal from last week’s U.S.
A third three-putt from Hovland on the penultimate green meant a dropped shot and the need for no more than a par on the 568-yard par-5 18th to clinch victory.
“I’m kinda glad that’s all over,” said Hovland, who is expected to move to a career-high 13th in the World Ranking and has all-but clinched his Ryder Cup debut at Whistling Straits in September.
There was also the thought that, only a few days after being named one of European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington’s assistants, he was sending a wee “I can still play” message to his prospective boss.
“I knew at the start of the day I needed something really low,” said Kaymer, who teed-off eight shots behind Hovland.
It’s a huge honor to be a vice-captain, but I will be giving it everything I have to make the team.
Following up his recent T-14 finish at the Scandinavian Mixed in his Swedish homeland, the 23-year-old, surely destined to be known as the “Great White Sharrk,” closed with a 66 to finish T-5 in his professional debut.
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