OAKMONT, Pa. — There always seems to be enough rattling around in the brain of Viktor Hovland that it’s not far-fetched to wonder how he does what he does as well as he does it.
What Hovland does well is play golf, and he appears more capable than many of his peers to play better with less than his best stuff. That seems counterintuitive, but it works for Hovland. And it might yet yield him his first major championship if he struggles enough on Sunday at Oakmont Country Club to rise to the occasion and win the U.S. Open.
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Despite struggling off the tee for most of his third round—usually a recipe for disaster at rough-around-the-edges Oakmont—Hovland gutted out an even-par 70 on Saturday and stayed within contact of the lead after 54 holes. At one-under 209, Hovland trails Sam Burns by four strokes and Adam Scott and J.J. Spaun by three.
It was alternately a maddening and confidence-building day for the Norwegian. Such dichotomy of thought and emotion is part of what makes him tick as one of the game’s best players.
“The way that I became good at golf was having something suboptimal that I had to play with,” said Hovland, ranked 14th in the world. “When I was a kid, I played with like a big slice off the tee and I couldn’t hit anything but a big slice, but I learned to score with that. So I think that kind of sticks with you for the rest of your career. The last few years obviously my swing’s been good, I’ve been hitting a lot better shots, it’s easier to score, and now when I’m not swinging it as good, I still have the capability to get the ball in the hole.”
Fact check: That’s all that matters.
Hovland has seven PGA Tour titles, including a surprising run to victory at the Valspar Championship in March, an event from which he nearly withdrew after three straight missed cuts. After edging Justin Thomas by a stroke, Hovland mused on social media about what a “stupid, stupid game” golf is.
A former U.S. Amateur champion, Hovland, 27, has played solidly since his victory, but admits he still seems to be searching for more consistency in his swing, particularly off the tee. He hit nine of 14 fairways on Saturday but still managed to find 14 greens in regulation. Strong young man. That takes some mental strength, too, to be able to dig out a score in Oakmont’s wet hay.
Driver issues aside, something he admitted he is “bitter” about, Hovland has an optimistic disposition heading into the final round of a championship in which he has finished no better than T-12 in six appearances.
“Just feel like I’ve matured a lot more, just seen a lot more stuff happening. I know kind of what it takes to win a major championship, so I know the shots to try to hit and what shots not to try to hit,” he said. “Feel like I’m way better equipped, just need to get that driver sorted, and I’ve got the game to do it. So it’s like I’m super proud that I’m that close, but it’s kind of frustrating that the driver is still just kind of holding me back a little bit.”
Hovland’s ability to handle adversity is the story of his championship. He began on Thursday with consecutive bogeys and was three over par through eight holes before righting the ship. It’s not easy rallying at Oakmont, but he already has proved up to that task.
The last player to start a U.S. Open and go on to win was Larry Nelson in 1983. Right here at Oakmont.
Maybe Hovland has them right where he wants them.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
