We won’t soon forget Viktor Hovland’s 36-foot birdie make on the 15th in Dubai.
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Viktor Hovland needed a miracle on Sunday afternoon at the Dubai Desert Classic. Then, on the 16th green, he got one.
Hovland was on the green on the par-4, from nearly 40 feet away, staring down the birdie putt that would decide his chances in Dubai — if they hadn’t been decided already.
“I didn’t birdie 10. I didn’t birdie 13, and then three-putted 15,” Hovland said. “So then all the momentum went away.”
With no momentum on his side and the weight of the tournament on his shoulders, Hovland lined up his 36-foot birdie putt. He made a smooth, clean stroke, then watched as it rolled down a ridge, broke two ways and, at long last, went into the hole.
At the time, the birdie moved him to 9 under, but basking in the glow of a playoff victory over Richard Bland a few hours later, Hovland admitted that in hindsight, it was more like an answered prayer.
“I make a bomb on 16 and I start thinking, well, birdie, birdie, 17, 18, it’s a good finish, lots of good things to take with me to the next couple of events,” he said, recounting how he’d quickly played his way into contention after draining the birdie. “It wasn’t an easy putt. I might make that putt one in 20 times, especially it was going both ways and it’s so sandy. It kind of hard to get the speed right. When that went in, I knew I had a legit chance on the last hole if I could set myself up for a birdie.”
In the end, Hovland played his last four holes (including the playoff) at 5 under, clinching the Dubai Desert Classic with a score of 12 under for the week. It was a miraculous effort from the 24-year-old, whose win vaulted him to No. 3 in the world — an effort due in part to his Ping PLD DS 72 putter.
Ping advertises its DS 72 putter as a ‘mid-mallet,’ with smooth, rounded edges giving way to a clean, confidence-inspiring head shape. In building the putter, Ping’s engineers utilized a steel weight in the heel — along with tungsten weighting in the toe — to stabilize the head, producing high levels of forgiveness even on off-center hits. The DS 72 also features Ping’s famed Anser-style hosel, which helps to promote slight rotation throughout the stroke.
For regular players, the DS 72 is a favorite for its blend of accuracy and performance. For burgeoning superstars (or miracle-workers), it’s the putter’s distance control and feel that make it a preferred selection. In reality, Ping says, the DS 72 is an everyman selection — one worthy of use for putts of all lengths.
To learn more about the DS 72, check out the link below.
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Ping PLD DS 72 Mid-Mallet Putter
A preferred choice of both high-handicappers and the very best players in the world, the Ping PLD DS 72 mid-mallet is a high-forgiveness weapon, with performance-weighting and an Anser-style hosel for promoting slight rotation.
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