Abu Dhabi, Jan 15: Young Viktor Hovland called the Hero Challenge his ‘first’ professional win as he put on an amazing display of wedge play at the Hero Challenge under the lights at the iconic Yas Marina Formula 1 Circuit late on Tuesday night.
Norwegian Hovland, 22, a former World Amateur No, 1, uniquely scored with every single shot as he emerged a winner, over World No, 1 Brooks Koepka in the semi-final and then beat former Open champion, Louis Oosthuizen with another precise show.
Hovland became the 11thdifferent winner in 11 editions of the hugely popular Hero Challenge, which is telecast live. No player has won the event more than once.
The players are required from a customised platform about 100 yards from the target, which has coloured zones worth five, 10, 25 and 50 points for each shot depending on where it lands.
With his final shot of the night worth double, Hovland found the ‘Bull’s Eye’ for 50, which was doubled for 100 points. His total of 190 points was way more than Oosthuizen’s 55 and it also fetched Hovland the Trophy presented
by Dr. Pawan Munjal, Chairman of Hero MotoCorp.
Hovland, who turned professional after the US Open last year, and now has a PGA Tour card, said, ““I can’t complain, that was a pretty good start to the week,” he said. “It’s an insane venue; I have never been to a place like this, so what a place to get my first “professional victory!”
He added, “I hit some pretty nice wedge shots tonight so hopefully that carries through to the tournament this week. To win the Hero Challenge is pretty cool and I’m looking forward to playing in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in a couple of days.”
Earlier Hovland, who playfully trash-talked with Koepka, beat the latter comprehensively in the semi-final. Oosthuizen beat two-time Rolex Series winner Bernd Wiesberger in the second semi-final.
In the group stage, Koepka and Wiesberger progressed to semi-final from Group 1, while the 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett was eliminated. Oosthuizen and Hovland moved ahead from Group 2 while Matt Fitzpatrick, a former Hero Challenger, was eliminated.
Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, recently extended the Hero Challenge on the European Tour until 2022, with the number of annual events increasing from three to a series of five.
Following Abu Dhabi, the event moves to Europe for three more exciting editions, including the Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik and Annika in Stockholm, the Porsche European Open in Hamburg, and the Betfred British Masters, to be hosted by Lee Westwood at Close House. The series finale will take place ahead of the European Tour’s season-ending event in Dubai and will feature the winners of all four Hero Challenges from 2020 campaign.
Results:
Final: Hovland beat Oosthuizen 190-55
Semi-final: Hovland bt Koepka 105-45; Oosthuizen bt Wiesberger 80–30
Group stage: Group 1: 1. Koepka; 2. Wiesberger; 3. Willett (eliminated); Group 2: 1. Oosthuizen; 2. Hovland; 3. Fitzpatrick (eliminated)
