The last time Scottie Scheffler won the Travelers Championship, he did so in extra holes, besting Tom Kim in a playoff in 2024.
On Monday, he’ll have a chance to do the same thanks to two massive par saves as darkness descended on TPC River Highlands on Sunday night.
Scheffler started the day one shot back of Viktor Hovland, but the two tossed the lead back and forth throughout the opening 12 holes. The duo had three one-shot swings and two two-shot swings in the opening five holes. By the time they got to the 12th hole, Scheffler led Hovland by two and seemed primed to pull away from the Norwegian.
Then came the downpour. Both Scheffler and Hovland birdied the par-5 13th in the rain before the horn blew due to lightning. After an almost two-hour delay, Hovland came out and birdied 14 and 15 to tie Scheffler.
It was there on the drivable par-4 15th, that Scheffler made the first of two massive par saves.
The World No. 1’s tee shot landed in the left rough in front of the green. Expecting the soaked greens to slow down his chip, Scheffler tried to put a little extra on it to get it to the back-right hole location for an easy birdie. Instead, his chip raced past the hole and off the back of the green. His chip coming back left him seven feet for par. With Hovland already in for birdie, Scheffler needed to make the putt to stay tied. He buried it.
“I thought with it coming out and being a little bit softer, the greens would slow down a touch,” Scheffler said of his chip on 15. “I thought I cozied that one up there pretty nice, and it just seemed like it kept going. But did a good job of staying in it. That’s part of golf. When conditions change, the golf course changes, and you got to take the good with the bad. Did a good job of getting that one up-and-down and keep myself in it.”
The two exchanged pars on 16 and 17 before reaching the closing hole. With the sun about to set, the 72nd hole of the tournament would be Sunday’s final hole, whether a winner was crowned or not.
Hovland split the fairway and hit his approach to 24 feet. Scheffler’s tee shot found the left rough, but he got a good lie and was able to land his approach on the back of the green. Scheffler’s birdie attempt was high the whole way and ran eight feet past the cup. Hovland missed his birdie attempt but tapped in for par, leaving Scheffler with a testy par putt to determine if there would be a sudden-death playoff on Monday or if Hovland would be the champion.
Scheffler surveyed the putt in the dark and poured it in the heart. As his ball found the bottom of the cup, Scheffler pieced the air with a massive fist pump to put an exclamation point on a chaotic day of golf in Cromwell, Connecticut.
“It’s nice to be able to hole those putts, keep myself in the tournament,” Scheffler said after the round. “It’s more fun when you’re making the ones to win, but to keep yourself in it is also nice. Like I said, I live another day until tomorrow, and will be coming out in the morning and see what I can do.”
Hovland said the weather delay allowed him to reboot, something he felt he needed as Scheffler started to pull away from him on the back nine. Once play resumed, Hovland felt he was in more control of his game.
“I played a lot of great golf this week, so I’m feeling pretty good,” Hovland said. “Obviously I would have liked to have gotten it done in regulation, but to have a chance again tomorrow to win, feeling pretty good about that. So try to get a good night’s sleep and be fresh.”
It just wasn’t enough to vanquish the World No. 1. That will have to wait until Monday. Scheffler made sure of it.