For most professional golfers, a five-month gap between PGA Tour victories hardly qualifies as a drought.
For world number one Scottie Scheffler, it’s long enough to make people wonder if something is wrong.
The Travelers Championship has made that idea quite ridiculous, although Scheffler still has to wait until Monday morning to see if the drought ends.
Scheffler and Viktor Hovland finished tied at 21 under 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 until late in the day.
Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler shake hands with their caddies on the 18th green after completing 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 fill the hole, they keep going until someone finally breaks away.
For Scheffler, this means that the winless streak is not yet over.
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For Hovland, it means another 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 Voyageurs with just one win in 2026, dating back to January at American Express. Of course, “one win” does a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.
It’s not like Scheffler has played poorly this season. Quite the contrary, in fact. The world’s best player has eight top-five finishes in his first 13 starts this season, including his victory at the American Express and second-place finishes at the Masters, the RBC Heritage and the Cadillac Championship. He finished third at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and finished fourth at the US Open last week.
Now he has another chance to turn a close game 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 scenario in front of him.
American Scottie Scheffler waves to the crowd after making a birdie on the 10th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, June 28, 2026. (Jordanian Bank/Getty Images)
The best golfer on the planet had 18 holes to collect another trophy.
Instead, Hovland ensured that the Travelers Championship would need more than 72 holes.
Scheffler, who rarely needs help from other players, quickly received help from Hovland. The Norwegian, who birdied 18 on Saturday to post a 64 and take the lead from Scheffler going into the final round, made a bogey on his first hole on Sunday to fall back into a tie with Scheffler.
Scheffler had a ho-hum front nine, making a birdie and a bogey for an even par 35. Hovland had a shot on the front with a 36, which allowed a number of players to return to the tournament. Collin Morikawa shot a 61 in the final round, posting the club lead at 20 under several hours before Scheffler and Hovland finished.
For a while, it looked like Morikawa might be the player Scheffler needed to beat.
Then Hovland acted.
Scheffler made birdies at Nos. 10 and 13 to move to 21 under and take a one-shot lead over Morikawa’s clubhouse number. Hovland, who also birdied No. 13, and U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark were still lurking within two, but Scheffler appeared to have control of the tournament when heavy rain began hitting TPC River Highlands and forced a weather delay.
American Scottie Scheffler watches from the 13th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, June 28, 2026. (Jordanian Bank/Getty Images)
After the delay, Hovland completely reversed the dynamic.
He birdied No. 14 to get within one, then added another birdie at No. 15 to take a share of the lead. Suddenly, Scheffler was no longer on his way to his 21st PGA Tour victory. He was trying to survive Hovland’s late accusation.
Scheffler had his own chance to regain control, but his birdie on No. 17 fell short, leaving the two players tied heading into the 72nd hole.
Both players hit solid approach shots on No. 18, but Scheffler found himself slightly further away than Hovland. The American gave him too much pace, sending him well past the hole and leaving himself 8 1/2 feet to get back to par.
It wouldn’t have mattered if Hovland had drained his 25-foot birdie putt, but it just slipped out of the hole at the end. That meant Scheffler would have to sink his putt to send both men into the playoff.
Is there any doubt what happened next? Scheffler drained the putt, gave an enthusiastic fist pump and shook Hovland’s hand as the two almost certainly exchanged “See you tomorrow.”
It will be the first PGA Tour Monday playoff since Rory McIlroy beat 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 Monday morning, and the first player to win a playoff hole will win the tournament.
For Scheffler, the situation is familiar in one way and unusual in another.
He’s been here before with the Travelers. In 2024, Scheffler defeated his friend Tom Kim in a playoff for his first victory at TPC River Highlands. Scheffler only needed one hole to beat Kim.
It’s a course that has been friendly for Scheffler after a difficult start. After missing the cut on his first trip to Connecticut in 2020 and finishing 47th in 2021, he made the event one of his best Tour stops.
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.
Very good.
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Yet, technically, the drought continues.
That’s what’s strange about Scheffler right now.
His dry spells would constitute the best career stretches for just about anyone. He continues to top the leaderboards, continues to rack up top fives, and continues to put in deep runs on Sundays at golf’s biggest events.
But when the bar is this high, getting closer is not enough.
Scheffler came to TPC River Highlands looking like he was ready to end any talk of a drought before it got too loud. Instead, Hovland dragged it out until Monday.
Now, one more hole, or perhaps several, will decide whether Scheffler’s drought finally ends or extends for another week.
Regardless, the larger point is pretty clear.
Win or lose on Monday, there’s nothing wrong with Scottie Scheffler.
