SILVIS, Ill. – Viktor Hovland figured he needed to birdie the last hole to get a top-10 finish at the John Deere Classic, thus punching his ticket to next week’s Barbasol Championship. Instead, the 2018 U.S. Amateur winner from Oklahoma State bogeyed the hole and signed for a final-round 64, dropping him out of the top 10 and giving him a hard-earned break. “I’ll take two weeks off and just chill in Stillwater,� he said as he packed up his things in the locker room after competing on a sponsor exemption for the fourth straight week. He shrugged off the 12-foot par putt he missed on 18. “I figured I needed a birdie, but it still hurt.� At the U.S. Open in June, Hovland, 21, set a new tournament standard for low score by an amateur (280, 4 under), beating the record previously set by Jack Nicklaus in 1960 (282). In doing so, Hovland also became the first player since Matt Kuchar in 1998 to be low amateur in both the Masters Tournament (T32) and U.S. Open (T12). Hovland turned pro before the Travelers Championship (T54), and was steadily improving, finishing T13 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and 3M Open the last two weeks. He was hot again Sunday, leaving himself just a three-foot eagle putt at 17 before his miscue at the difficult, par-4 finishing hole. The bogey was a setback in his quest to earn enough FedExCup points to secure his playing privileges on the PGA TOUR next season. Hovland could have earned Special Temporary Membership, good for unlimited sponsor exemptions, with a three-way tie for third or better, or a six-way tie for second or better at the Deere. But a top-10 finish would have helped a lot, giving him at least one more start at the Barbasol. Instead, he’ll take a much-needed break after five straight weeks. “It’s going to take something really special at the Wyndham,� Hovland said, “but more likely I’ll be going to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.�
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