The best part of Viktor Hovland’s overtime on Monday morning CONQUEST in the Travelers Championship? It’s hard to pick just one – so here are five.
1. His mother was there.
A particularly special spectator took in Hovland’s Monday morning victory from behind the 18th green: his mother Galina. While Hovland’s win was his eighth on Tour, it was the first time he had a parent in attendance.
“I’ve won a few times now at worlds, but my mom or dad have never seen me win one. So it was really cool to have him here,” Hovland said after the round. Even better: now he’s headed home for at least a week before the Opening.
“We’re going home together to Norway later today, so, yeah, it couldn’t be a better way to win a golf tournament and celebrate coming home.”
2. The rest of Norway was also there.
Norway’s World Cup team played in New Jersey earlier last week. They played in Boston at the end of the week. What is halfway between New Jersey and Boston? That’s right, folks: TPC River Highlands.
The result was a distinctly different type of red, white and blue-flavored fans than we’re used to at tournament events; Norwegian flags were everywhere. The effect was wonderful. I can’t remember anything like this at a Tour event, with two sets of fans rooting for opposing sides in such a healthy way. Hovland felt it too – it hardly seems like a coincidence that their arrival brought about his best tour in years.
“But I thought it was super exciting. The crowds were very respectful and it just really motivated me to play better,” Hovland said. “Obviously, having some Norwegian jerseys there brought the atmosphere, and I think the American crowds, I thought it was good too. I thought it made the event a lot more enjoyable. So, yeah, it was just a blast to play in a big golf tournament, a golf course, in front of big fans. It was an absolute blast.”
3. It was over Scottie Scheffler.
Hovland admitted that, yes, it means something more to win like this, over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. (That came through a short Scheffler miss didn’t seem to care much.)
“You always want to try to beat the best. What he’s done the last few years is just super impressive, and I have a lot of respect for him and his game. To go up against him and have a chance to beat him, I think it’s just super exciting,” Hovland said.
He also joins an interesting group: players who will win in four Scheffler runners-up this season. Rory McIlroy beat him at the Masters, Matt Fitzpatrick beat him in a playoff at the RBC Heritage, Cameron Young opened a gap at the Cadillac Championship and now Hovland beat him in another playoff. Considering the other three are world Nos. 2, 3 and 4, Hovland is in good company.
4. He conquered – for now – his greatest fear.
Hovland was insightful in explaining what he was looking at in his four, five or six hour sessions. Of course, he is shooting the best shots possible. But he’s probably even more focused on eliminating the Big Miss.
“Some of the pictures I’ve seen are like Wow, how is that possible? Like, I’ve never seen some of those shots before,” Hovland said. Even when he plays golf well, he admitted, the possibility of a big mistake lurks in the back of his mind.
“Even the US Open last week, I thought I played a lot better, but I had a big mistake on the 12th hole there in the left-right wind that went OB, so I had a bad putt that cost me two shots for the tournament and I missed the putt by one shot,” he said. “This week I just went to work and felt comfortable.”
Hovland was particularly pleased with his driver, who was a weakness early in the season; he led the field of travelers at Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. That gave him confidence playing No.18 on Monday morning.
“In the practice rounds and even the tournament rounds, the 18, I’ve absolutely been shooting it every day. Even the drive yesterday and today, right down the middle,” he said. “You don’t have to hope or drive it or drive it there, you just swing it and you know it’s going to go right up the middle. That’s something I’ve missed for a long time.”
5. He proved something to himself.
When Hovland won last year’s Valspar Championship, it didn’t seem to fill the void in his golf confidence; he left the tournament talking about how he still thought his swing was “still not good.”
But this time? It looks like he will allow himself some satisfaction by beating the best players in the world.
“At the end of the day I just really showed myself that I’ve got the game now,” Hovland said. “I’ve really made some big strides in just the way I’ve been driving all week, that’s been one of the weaknesses this year. This week I did it amazing. I did a lot of good things all week. I just want to continue that trend. Whether I win or lose or whatever, I just want to play good golf and have fun out here again.”
Golf fans love this one too.
Especially the ones in red, blue and white.
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