Golf Channel journalist Ryan Lavner has claimed that one player completely outperformed expectations at the PGA Championship last week, particularly as he had seemingly been fighting with his game up until Wednesday night ahead of the first round.
It was Xander Schauffele who got the job done at Valhalla, with the American breaking the record for the best score to par at a major championship.
But it was certainly a stacked leaderboard, with Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry and Sahith Theegala all in serious contention at various points in Kentucky.
However, there was also a charge on Sunday from Viktor Hovland, with the Norwegian finishing third having had a putt on the last to tie DeChambeau at -20 and take the clubhouse lead.
Viktor Hovland leaves journalist stunned with PGA Championship display
Hovland has had a nightmare start to 2024, with the FedEx Cup champion failing to register a single top 10 before the PGA Championship.
Hovland had definitely been fighting with his game in the weeks before the event, but has recently returned to working with Joe Mayo again. And it appears that there have been almost immediate rewards with the second best finish of his major championship career.
And speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Lavner suggested that he was amazed by Hovland’s performance in Kentucky.
“I think we have to give Viktor Hovland a shout-out too, I don’t think anyone would have expected Viktor Hovland to contend for this title, certainly not when you and I were sitting around, waiting for our live Wednesday and he was literally the last golfer on the driving range, and even on the property here at Valhalla,” he said.
“Ends up finishing third, had an opportunity to potentially, we may have thought get to a play-off at minus 20, ends up three-putting it but finishes alone in third.”
Norwegian looking to break new ground at US Open
The low expectations may have freed Hovland up slightly, as he was clearly unhappy with where his game was at if he was the last man out on the range the night before the event.
Of course, Hovland has proved that he can win the big events when the pressure is on, but his challenge now is to show that the PGA Championship was a big step in the right direction rather than an anomaly in his season.
He is yet to finish inside the top 10 at a US Open during his career, so it will be very intriguing to see how he fares at Pinehurst next month.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
