For a while there, it looked like the Travelers Championship was going to wrap up on schedule Sunday night. Then the New England weather had other ideas, and now Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland are coming back Monday morning to sort out who gets the trophy.
Both players finished 72 holes at 21-under par, tied for the lead after Collin Morikawa couldn’t keep pace on the back nine. Scheffler drained an 8-foot-6-inch putt on the 18th green to force the playoff. He didn’t three-putt once during regulation. That stat holds up on its own, but it’s worth mentioning given how slick those greens get late in the day.
Rain delay pushes the finish
The tournament was already running late Sunday when storms rolled through Cromwell, Connecticut. That pushed things deep into the evening and made a Monday finish inevitable. The PGA Tour announced the playoff would start at 9 a.m. Eastern on Golf Channel. The 18th hole will be the deciding hole, repeated until one of them blinks.
Scheffler is chasing his 21st career PGA Tour win. That number keeps creeping up faster than anyone expected a few years ago. Hovland, meanwhile, is still looking for that next big signature win after his FedEx Cup title in 2023. This isn’t a bad spot for him either. He’s been playing some of the most consistent golf in the field this week.
What happened to Morikawa
Collin Morikawa was right there until the closing stretch. He couldn’t hold the lead when it mattered most, and both Scheffler and Hovland birdied key holes down the stretch while Morikawa stalled out with pars. He’ll probably spend the next few weeks wondering what went wrong on that final nine. That’s the nature of those Sunday collapses. They stick with you.
The Travelers has been hosting a Monday playoff every few years now. It’s becoming a tradition nobody really wants but everyone watches. For Scheffler, this is just another chance to add to a resume that’s already stacked. For Hovland, it’s a chance to remind people he belongs in that top-tier conversation.
They’ll both be back on that first tee Monday morning. One of them walks away with the trophy. The other gets a long ride home thinking about what could have been.
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