Viktor Hovland made a big mistake during the final round of the Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Course in New Jersey on Monday, and it forced him to play several holes without a putter.
Hovland damaged his putter after smashing it on his bag in frustration when he was coming off the 8th hole. He wasn’t able to use the club anymore, and rules prevent players from replacing clubs that are broken or damaged during “cases of abuse.”
Viktor Hovland putting with a wedge or wood on the back nine pic.twitter.com/jlWDPYFuqC
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) August 23, 2021
As a result of the outburst, Hovland had to putt with a wedge for the remainder of the round. While he was nowhere near the top of the leaderboard at the time, he managed to make the most of it. He even rolled in a fairly long birdie on the 10th.
Viktor Hovland broke his putter at the 8th.
He's now rolling in birdie putts with a wedge. 👀 pic.twitter.com/WJSBLiPYJZ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 23, 2021
While it was Hovland’s fault that he had to play without a putter, the incident was just the latest in what has been a bizarre season for the 23-year-old. If you remember, he was penalized two shots at The Players Championship in March after his own mother pointed out a violation. Hovland then had to withdraw from the US Open in June after he got sand in his eyes. Having to putt with a wedge was far from the most unusual thing that has happened to him this year.
