Scottie Scheffler showcased why he is the world No 1 on Sunday evening at a rain-soaked Travellers Championship, as the American drained a clutch eight-foot par putt to force a Monday play-off against Viktor Hovland.
It was a dramatic end to an enthralling final round, which saw Scheffler, who is looking to win his second PGA Tour title of the season, start the day one shot behind the Norwegian.
Hovland, who posted a final round score of 69, struggled to find his groove at the start of his round. But after rain and lightning stopped play when the final pairing were on the 14th hole, the Norwegian returned to the course looking rejuvenated, posting two birdies and three pars in his final five holes to match Scheffler at 21-under par.
It is not the first time this season that Scheffler, who ended his week with a final round of 68, has forced a play-off at a Signature Event, with the American taking Matt Fitzpatrick to a decider at the RBC Heritage in April. Scheffler would lose that showdown.
He has won two and lost two play-offs in the past, while Hovland won his lone play-off appearance against Denny McCarthy at the Memorial Tournament in 2023.
As light waned on TPC River Highlands, course officials chose to postpone the play-off until Monday, with Scheffler and Hovland set to continue their tussle at 2pm (BST), live on Your Site Golf.
It is the first time a PGA Tour event has gone to a Monday finish since Rory McIlroy beat JJ Spaun in a play-off at the 2025 Players Championship.
While Hovland surged late, Scheffler hung on, making multiple big par saves, the most notable of which came on the 15th hole, where he overcooked a wedge shot over the green from a horrid lie next to a water hazard, before chipping on and putting out to get up and down.
"It's more fun when you're making the ones to win, but to keep yourself in it is also nice," Scheffler said.
"I live another day until tomorrow, and will be coming out in the morning and see what I can do."
A crowd of Norwegian fans had cheered Hovland on throughout his round vociferously, but the European Ryder Cup hero was unable to bounce off their momentum, getting off to a poor start with a bogey on his opening hole.
Hovland set the lowest 54-hole score on the PGA Tour this season at 20 under par, but the 28-year-old struggled to find consistency over his opening 10 holes on Sunday. He mixed two birdies with three bogeys-including a run of birdie, bogey, birdie and bogey from the sixth through ninth holes-before dropping another shot at the 10th
Hovland was two shots back of Scheffler when reports of lightning in the area forced officials to sound the claxon, but he returned to his ball on the fairway on the 14th hungry to push Scheffler down to the wire.
"It's just one of those things, while you're out there, you try to do the best you can and reset after every single shot, and I was definitely just in a poor rhythm there," Hovland said, reflecting on his round before the weather delay.
"I hit some good shots and then some bad shots and I just couldn't quite get a flow in.
"So it was nice to just get completely off the golf course and reset and I felt a lot better coming back. Sometimes that's all you need."
Prior to the rain delay, Collin Morikawa had set the clubhouse lead of 20-under par, making up nine shots on the leaders with an epic 61, which saw him finish third. It equalled his career-low score, the American made during round one at the 2023 Tour Championship.
Morikawa withdrew from this year's Players Championship with a back injury and has been fighting to regain form since then.
"I haven't been able to practice as much as I would have liked," Morikawa said. "Still kind of dealing with the back stuff a little bit. It's a lot better than what it was at The Masters, even through the PGA, but still not comfortable.
"I'm still kind of dancing around things. Each shot I'm out there, I'm focused so much on making contact versus hitting shots, and that's a hard way to play. But thankfully, the game feels good enough where I'm able to put some scores together like this, and I think I'll be able to use this heading into The Open."
Another player who will have his eyes on a strong finish at the final major of the season is Fitzpatrick, who continued his epic season with a final round score of 64, to finish fourth on the leaderboard.
Fitzpatrick caught fire with four birdies in his opening six holes, including a chip-in at the fourth, as he surged into contention.
He rebounded following a bogey on the ninth with another streak of three pars between holes 11 and 13, but a bogey on 14 would again halt the Englishman's charge.
Last week's US Open winner, Wyndham Clark was also in the hunt until his penultimate hole, where he undercooked an approach shot to the green, and landed his ball in a water hazard before going down for a bogey.
Clark would end his week three shots back from Scheffler and Hovland at 18-under par.
Watch the first round of the John Deere Classic, live on Your Site Golf from 5pm on Thursday. There is also coverage on Your Site Golf and Your Site Main Event from 10pm.
