28 August 2023 , 11:00
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Golf star Viktor Hovland turned down a gift from a sponsor shortly after winning the PGA Tour Championship.
Hovland recorded a seven-under-par 63 in the final round at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia to win the PGA Tour Championship. In the process, he became the first Norwegian to win the FedEx Cup title.
The 25-year-old finished on 27-under par for the tournament and five shots ahead of runner-up Xander Schauffele. Hovland birdied the final three holes to secure the victory, with Schauffele scoring an eight-under-par final round of 62 to put pressure on the leader.
US Open champion Wyndham Clark finished in third place on 16-under-par, some 11 shots behind the leader. Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, finished fourth on 14-under-par after a five-under-par 65 in the final round, but was too far adrift of Hovland to challenge for the title.
After his final round, Hovland was presented with a gift from tournament sponsor Coca Cola. A vending machine was placed in the 18th green and Hovland posed for photos while holding a bottle of the drink.
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Off camera, someone can be heard asking Hovland if he wished to keep the drink for himself. However, the Norwegian politely declined the offer and gave a reason as to why he didn’t want the drink.
“I’m good,” Hovland replied. “Only (Coke) Zero, [I] only drink Zero.”
In the process of winning the TOUR Championship, Hovland received £14.1million ($18m) in prize money. And the 25-year-old admitted afterwards that he could hardly believe that he had finished the tournament as the winner.
Viktor Hovland received $18 million (£14.1m) in prize money after winning the TOUR Championship (Jason Allen/ISI Photos/Getty Images)"It's pretty surreal to be standing here right now," said Hovland after winning the tournament.
"The gameplan before starting was middle of the green, make a lot of pars and make Xander (Schauffele) get after it, which he did early so I had to change my gameplan a little bit."
With the PGA Tour season now wrapped up, attention for Hovland will soon be focusing on the Ryder Cup. The prestigious event takes place at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy, with Team Europe looking to win back the trophy after losing to the United States 19-9 in 2021 at Whistling Straits.
Team Europe captain Luke Donald will be busy finalising his picks for the three-day tournament which begins on September 29. Hovland, McIlroy and Masters champion Jon Rahm have already qualified for the event, with nine other places still up for grabs.