A week ago, Viktor Hovland openly wondered how bad it could get. On Sunday night, he lifted a trophy above his shoulders with proof that it’s never as far away as it seems. Hovland surged to a come-from-behind victory at the Valspar Championship, playing the famed “Snake Pit” in 1-under to beat Justin Thomas by one shot.

It was a result without warning. Hovland missed his previous three cuts, which included a first-round 80 at THE PLAYERS Championship, and arrived at Innisbrook Resort feeling shaky about his game. He said he didn’t truly believe he could win this week. Even in victory, Hovland admitted he hit “some disgusting shots” and still didn’t feel confident in his swing. But Hovland showed his talent was great enough to win despite those reservations.

“I still need to be honest so I can attack the problems that I have and we can improve, but at the same time I got to give myself some credit and even no matter how bad it feels or how many poor shots I'm hitting I can still, I'm still capable of shooting good scores with it,” Hovland said. “So I kind of have to keep that in the back of my head.”

Hovland hit a series of remarkable shots down the stretch to close out the tournament. He stuck his approach to 6 feet from 184 yards out on the 16th and rolled the putt in for birdie. Then on his next swing on the 222-yard par-3 17th, Hovland hit it to 12 feet and again sank the putt to take a one-shot lead. Thomas made bogey on the 18th up ahead of him, allowing Hovland to make bogey on 18 and still emerge victorious.

It’s Hovland’s seventh PGA TOUR win and first since the 2023 TOUR Championship.“I was not very hopeful with my game leading into this week and, yeah, just goes to show this game is pretty crazy,” Hovland said.

TOUR heads to Texas Children's Houston Open

The PGA TOUR begins its Texas two-step with the first of two tournaments in the Lone Star State at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and reigning PLAYERS champion Rory McIlroy highlight a field full of PGA TOUR stars at Memorial Park Golf Course. Stephan Jaeger returns to defend his title from 2024, where he narrowly beat Scheffler in the final round for his maiden TOUR title. Memorial Park is a municipal course that traces its origins to 1912, recently undergoing a dramatic renovation in 2019 via Tom Doak before welcoming the PGA TOUR back after nearly 60 years. The winner of the Texas Children’s Houston Open receives 500 FedExCup points.

Video of the week

Mic check

“There was no way to hit it but lefty. I grabbed a 9-iron hoping it wouldn’t go too far, and I was just hoping to get it up in the air and go straight. The funny thing was my little boy was about 50 yards in front of me just to the left on the cart path sitting down, and I had to yell at him to sort of get out of the way because I didn’t know exactly where this thing could go. Last thing I need to do is call my wife and tell her I just hit my son with a golf ball.” – Billy Horschel on his improbable birdie after left-handed shot.

By the numbers

1 – Match 1 of the TGL Finals Series gets underway Monday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+ with Atlanta Drive GC taking on New York Golf Club. The best-of-three finals continue with a second match on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN+, and if needed, a third match will be held at 9 p.m. ET, also on ESPN and ESPN+.

2 – The infamous “Snake Pit” yielded two aces over four rounds at the Valspar starting with Steven Fisk in the second round, making an ace on No. 17 and marking his first hole-in-one in competition since a U.S. Kids tournament at age 11. The second came Saturday as Sam Ryder dunked it from 204 yards out for an ace, also at No. 17.

15 – Miguel Angel Jiménez collected his 15th win on PGA TOUR Champions and his second of the season at the Hoag Classic.

Comcast Business TOUR top 10

The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.