Ryder Cup 2023: Viktor Hovland chips in from ON the green, continues metamorphosis into short-game wizard

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The jokes about Viktor Hovland’s short game used to be everywhere. Heck, he even used to join in on them. But the guy who once said he “sucks” at chipping is all grown up now. In fact, he’s now grown into a short-game master.

Hovland’s hands were on full display on Friday morning at the Ryder Cup where he produced the first big roar of the actual event (He also produced a big practice-round roar on Thursday with a hole-in-one* on a par 4) with a chip shot. And an unusual one at that.

After foursomes partner Ludvig Aberg put him in a tricky spot on the first green with his approach, Hovland decided to grab a wedge instead of a putter. And then he did this:

Unbelievable. This is a guy who used to avoid chipping at all costs a couple years ago and now he’s going out of his way to chip? What a turn of events.

Of course, this is not a good sign for Team USA, which lost this match and every other Friday foursomes match. And Hovland’s improved short game has already paid huge dividends against all his opponents, as evidenced by him capturing the FedEx Cup—and an $18 million payday—last month. In other words, no one is laughing at Viktor’s short game now.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com