Viktor Hovland with the most positive reaction to heartbreaking deja vu moment
Viktor Hovland remains positive despite coming up just short of earning his maiden major championship once again.
Viktor Hovland is remaining positive after a tough bunker shot resulted in a double-bogey 6 late in the round on Sunday at the PGA Championship.
The Norwegian star was narrowly edged out of by LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka who was dominate on Sunday at the PGA Championship to claim his fifth major.
Hovland ended up finishing two strokes back in a tie for second with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler after a final-round 2-under 68.
As a result, Hovland has now earned three straight top-10 finishes in major championships dating back to last year at The Open.
Sunday's runner-up was his best finish in a major to date, but it wasn't Hovland's first time playing in the final pairing with a chance to win.
Last year at The Open in St Andrews, Hovland, who turned professional in 2019, was paired with Rory McIlroy in the final tee time.
However, neither European could get anything going on Sunday as Hovland recorded a final-round 74 to fall back into a tie for fourth.
Last month, at The Masters, Hovland once again had a solid weekend and a chance to finally notch his first major championship.
Playing in the penultimate group with Patrick Cantlay, however, the 25-year-old shot another 74 and this time fell back into a tie for seventh.
And despite falling just short, Hovland still has a positive perspective on the experience.
He told reporters following the heartbreaking runner-up:
He added:
Hovland was within striking distance of Koepka before a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 16th all but sealed his fate.
Hovland's shot found the bunker, and instead of getting it out, he ended up plugging it deeper.
Viktor Hovland's second shot caught the lip of the bunker.
He made double bogey on 16. pic.twitter.com/mzE4SN6rRE— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 21, 2023
But this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
A day prior, Corey Conners had found himself in the same position when he too couldn't get his ball out of the bunker on 16.
You can see how eerily similar the two shots were below:
Viktor Hovland fires his shot straight in to the front lip - nearly identical to the mess Corey Conners got into in the very same bunker yesterday pic.twitter.com/yDs6REb9qq
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 21, 2023
Hovland had few words afterwards on the tough break:
"Just didn't get out of the bunker. Plugged in the lip and tried to get a drop and made a double bogey," he told reporters.
