World Wide Technology Championship Recap

Norwegian Viktor Hovland capitalized on a third-round nine under par 62 to capture the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba for the second consecutive year, with the 24-year-old picking up his third career PGA Tour title.

 

The member of the European Ryder Cup team set a tournament record with a total score of 23 under par 261 after a closing round of 67 put him four shots clear of second-place finisher Carlos Ortiz, who was attempting to become the first Mexican to win on his home soil.

 

There were a lot of familiar names near the top of the leaderboard, with Justin Thomas in third place at 18 under par 266 on the par 71 El Camaleón Golf Course designed by Greg Norman that played at 7,017 yards for the event.

 

Thomas was followed by Scottie Scheffler at 17 under and Matthew Wolff, who opened with a ten under par 61 to grab the first-round lead but struggled to a third-round 74 to finish at 16 under par along with Joaquin Niemann.

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Hovland picked up $1.296 million for the victory, which also extended his PGA Tour exemption through the end of the 2023-2024 season, added 500 FedEx Cup points to his total, and guaranteed him a spot in the 2022 Masters, although he was fairly certain to earn an invitation based on his recent Tour performances. He came into the tournament with odds of +1600 to repeat as champion of the event, behind favorite Thomas, who was at +1100.

 

The primary drama for Hovland, aside from a couple of unlucky shots, was a broken driver resulting from a driving range incident on Wednesday, and the former Oklahoma State player was forced to use a borrowed one for the tournament but still ended up tied for second in driving accuracy. He didn’t indicate that the change would be permanent, however.

 

The course was ripe for scoring opportunities, with 20 players posting four rounds in the 60’s, including all of the top three finishers. However, only Wolff, Hovland, and Talor Gooch, who shot a 63 on Saturday to get into the final group before fading to an 11th place tie with a closing 74, posted scores under 64.

 

Other Finishers and Odds

 

After an eighth-place finish in 2020, Ortiz entered the tournament with odds of +7000 while countryman Abraham Ancer, who finished in a group of four players at 15 under in a tie for fourth, was among the event favorites at +2500. Scheffler, who is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory, came in at +2800 while Wolff had odds of +3300.

 

Other favorites included Tony Finau, who made it to the weekend at six-under-par, could manage no better than a pair of 70’s in the final two rounds to finish in a tie for 45th after coming in with odds of +2200. Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka was at +2500, but he failed to make the four under par cut after two disappointing even-par 71’s.

 

Billy Horschel was at +2500 and in contention after an opening 64 followed by a 69 put him at nine under par, but he was only one under on the weekend and finished in a tie for 33rd at ten under par 274.

 

Former Masters champion Patrick Reed had odds of +3000 but had to recover from an opening 73 to make the cut on the number with a second-round 65 and ended up in a tie for 56th at seven-under-par 277.

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