OAKMONT, Pa. — Viktor Hovland might become the first golfer in history to win the U.S. Open and immediately head to the driving range. In a sport of trophy hunters and check chasers, Hovland is a seeker, perpetually drawn to the game like it’s a book he can’t stop reading. He is 1 under par, three shots off the lead after three rounds. He knows that he can win this, but he is more fascinated by how.
“We’d all like to win,” Hovland said Saturday evening. “There is also a deep passion in me that I want to hit the shots. I want to stand on the tee and hit the shots that I’m envisioning. When the ball’s not doing that, it bothers me.”
Hovland and his driver have been in couples therapy all year. There are moments when happily ever after seems inevitable, and others when it’s like they don’t know each other at all. Saturday was not their best day.
“A little bitter about my driver,” Hovland said. “Can’t seem to figure it out. It’s been a lingering problem all year. It’s kind of pissing me off.”
You can search far and wide and you probably won’t find a person who declares he is pissed off so delightfully. Hovland has an irresistible quality. His smile seems like such a permanent part of his face that it’s hard to believe he was born without teeth. Yet he is never quite as satisfied as he looks.
Every golfer here at Oakmont would agree that these rounds are long and exhausting. J.J. Spaun, who is one shot behind leader Sam Burns, said he expected to go to sleep early because he was exhausted. Hovland, of course, went from his interview to the range. He was the only golfer on it. He hit driver after driver as the sun went down, hoping to talk it out rather than go to bed angry.
There are only three golfers ahead of Hovland. He knows he can win, but that doesn’t mean he believes he will. He said Friday that his expectations for the week “weren't overly high, to be honest with you,” and the problem is not that he lacks confidence. It’s that he is hyper-aware of how he is playing.
He is hitting his driver much better than he did a few months ago. But after the second round, he cited an errant drive on the 7th hole as “one of those old misses that I've had.” The word for a golfer who occasionally hits the same kind of lousy shot is “golfer.” Hovland knows this. He just can’t accept it.
“Super proud that I’m that close,” he said Saturday, sounding like a golfer who just finished second instead of like one who might yet win. “But it’s kind of frustrating that the driver is still holding me back a little bit.”
You won’t hear this from Hovland, but among those still in contention, Hovland has hit the most greens in regulation. So if his driver is holding him back, it’s not holding him all that far back. Some players would view being three shots back without hitting their driver very well as a reason for optimism: I haven’t even played my best, and I’m right there. Hovland is not one of those players. He needs to find the answers before he takes the test.
A more ruthless player would look around and snicker. As rain soaked Oakmont Saturday, big names sank.
Brooks Koepka started the day at 2 over par, looking like a threat to win his third U.S. Open, which would be both an astounding feat and entirely fitting: Golfer Who Hates Golf Keeps Winning Tournament That Hates Golfers. We kid, sort of, but anyway, Koepka bogeyed two of the first three holes, and he didn’t make a birdie until the 17th, and he now gets to play Oakmont on Sunday with no real chance at the trophy. Have fun, buddy!
Scottie Scheffler began the day at 4 over, looking like he might 65 his way into contention, and ended his day on the driving range with his son Bennett. Scheffler shot an even-par 70 to remain at 4 over. Someday, the Schefflers will celebrate Father’s Day with the U.S. Open trophy. But if they do it this week, it will be because Scottie’s pal Sam Burns won it.
Collin Morikawa began the day at 4 over, and he quickly made two birdies to get down to 2 over, but the worst part about the U.S. Open is that you have to play all of it. During one nine-hole stretch Saturday, Morikawa was 6 over par. He is now 8 over for the tournament.
Viktor Hovland began the day at 1 under, missed five fairways, admitted he was “guiding” his driver instead of swinging freely and he still shot an even-par 70. That is a testament to his talent, his iron play and his toughness.
“If the ball is going all over the place, it doesn't really matter how tough you are,” Hovland said this week, and for better or worse, he meant it.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Viktor Hovland Is Always Looking for His Game and Now It Could Win a U.S. Open.
