For most professional golfers, a five-month gap between victories on the PGA Tour is barely considered a drought.
For world number one Scottie Scheffler, it’s long enough to make people wonder if something is wrong.
The Travelers Championship made that idea seem pretty silly, even if Scheffler still has to wait until Monday morning to see if the drought ends.
Scheffler and Viktor Hovland finished regulation time tied at 21 under on Sunday at TPC River Highlands, setting up a rare playoff Monday at the Travelers Championship after weather and darkness prevented the tournament from being decided before the end of the day.
Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler shake hands with their caddies on the 18th green after finishing the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
The playoff is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET on the par-4 18th hole. The Travelers Championship playoff format is sudden death, meaning the player with the lowest score on a playoff hole wins. If Scheffler and Hovland close the hole, they will keep going until someone finally breaks away.
For Scheffler, this means the winless streak is not over yet.
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For Hovland, it means one more chance to defeat the best golfer on the planet after refusing to let Scheffler walk away during a tense, rain-delayed final round.
Scheffler entered the Travelers with just one win in 2026, which came in January at The American Express. Of course, “just one win” does a lot of work in that sentence.
It’s not that Scheffler has played poorly this season. In fact, quite the opposite. The world’s best player had eight top-five finishes in his first 13 starts this season, including his win at The American Express and runner-up finishes at the Masters, RBC Heritage and Cadillac Championship. He finished third at the CJ Byron Nelson Cup and tied for fourth at the US Open last week.
Now he has another chance to turn a difficult situation into a trophy.
But first he’ll have to sleep on it.
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Scheffler started the final round one shot behind Hovland after a wild first three days in Connecticut. He opened with a 64, nearly shot a historic 59 on Friday before settling for a 60, then posted a 67 on Saturday that left him in solo second place, one behind Hovland.
From there, it seemed like Scheffler had a familiar script in front of him.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States acknowledges the crowd after making birdie on the 10th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, on June 28, 2026. (Jordan Bank/Getty Images)
The best golfer on the planet had 18 holes to hunt for another trophy.
Instead, Hovland made sure the Travelers Championship needed more than 72 holes.
Scheffler, who rarely needs help from other players, received early help from Hovland. The Norwegian, who birdied 18 on Saturday to shoot 64 and take the lead over Scheffler heading into the final round, bogeyed his first hole on Sunday to move back into a tie with Scheffler.
Scheffler had a great front nine, making a birdie and a bogey for an even-par 35. Hovland shot ahead with a 36, allowing several players to return to the tournament. Collin Morikawa shot 61 in the final round, putting the clubhouse lead at 20 under several hours before Scheffler and Hovland finished.
For a while, it looked like Morikawa might be the player Scheffler had to beat.
Then Hovland made his move.
Scheffler birdied Nos. 10 and 13 to move to 21 under par and take a one-stroke lead over Morikawa’s clubhouse number. Hovland, who also birdied the 13th, and US Open winner Wyndham Clark were still lurking two back, but Scheffler appeared to be in control of the tournament when heavy rain began to hit TPC River Highlands and forced a weather delay.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States watches from the 13th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, on June 28, 2026. (Jordan Bank/Getty Images)
After the delay, Hovland completely reversed the momentum.
He birdied No. 14 to get within one, then added another birdie on No. 15 to grab a share of the lead. Suddenly, Scheffler was no longer advancing toward his 21st PGA Tour victory. He was trying to survive Hovland’s last charge.
Scheffler had his own chance to regain control, but his birdie putt on the 17th hole missed, leaving the two players tied heading into the 72nd hole.
Both players hit solid approach shots at No. 18, but Scheffler found himself a little further away than Hovland. The American gave it too much pace, sending it well beyond the hole and leaving himself at 8 1/2 feet returning for par.
It wouldn’t have mattered if Hovland drained his 25-foot birdie putt, but he simply ran out of the hole at the end. That meant Scheffler would need to make his putt to send the pair to the playoffs.
Is there any doubt what happened next? Scheffler rushed the putt, pumped his fist enthusiastically and shook Hovland’s hand as the two almost certainly exchanged “See you tomorrow.”
It will be the PGA Tour’s first Monday playoff since Rory McIlroy defeated JJ Spaun in a three-hole aggregate playoff at the 2025 Players Championship last March. This one will be much simpler. Scheffler and Hovland will return to the 18th hole on Monday morning, and the first player to win a playoff hole will win the tournament.
For Scheffler, the situation is familiar in one sense and unusual in another.
He’s been here before on The Travelers. In 2024, Scheffler defeated his friend Tom Kim in a tiebreaker to earn his first win at TPC River Highlands. Scheffler only needed one hole to beat Kim.
It’s a course that has been friendly to Scheffler after a rocky start. After missing the cut on his first trip to Connecticut in 2020 and finishing 47th in 2021, he turned the event into one of his best stops on Tour.
Scheffler finished 13th in 2022, fourth in 2023, won in 2024, finished sixth last year and now has another chance to win again in 2026.
Pretty good.
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Still, technically the drought continues.
That’s the strange thing about Scheffler right now.
His dry spells would be the best of their careers for almost everyone else. He continues to place near the top of the leaderboards, continues to rack up top-five finishes, and continues to achieve great results on Sundays in golf’s biggest events.
But when the bar is so high, getting close is not enough.
Scheffler arrived at TPC River Highlands looking like he was ready to put an end to any talk of a dry spell before it became too rowdy. Instead, Hovland dragged it to Monday.
Now, one more hole, or maybe several, will decide whether Scheffler’s drought finally ends or extends another week.
Either way, the most important point is pretty clear.
Win or lose on Monday, there’s nothing wrong with Scottie Scheffler.
