Viktor Hovland is right in the mix to win the US Open at Oakmont this week.
Hovland has experienced an extremely strange season, with one win in 11 starts, but that was his only top-10.
The 27-year-old has also missed three cuts, and he definitely has not been happy with his swing in general.
However, he has defied those who doubted him at Oakmont during the first three rounds.
Hovland raved about the greens at Oakmont, when speaking to the press after his second round at the US Open on Friday.
He hasn’t actually putted very well at all this week, but his iron play has been in superb shape.
Hovland’s driver hasn’t quite been in tip-top condition during the first three rounds at Oakmont, and he didn’t seem happy about his play off the tee one little bit, when speaking to reporters.
Viktor Hovland claims he’s been having a ‘lingering problem’
Hovland actually hit nine out of 14 fairways on day three at the US Open.
He clearly wasn’t happy with the big stick though.
Hovland was asked to give his thoughts on his third round at Oakmont on Saturday.
And he opened up on the problems he’s having with his driver right now.
He said, “Pretty pleased with how I battled out there. Didn’t get off to a great start, just kept plugging along, hit some great iron shots and made some nice putts around the turn there. Really nice par putt on 15 and awesome birdie on 17. Yeah, a little bitter about my driver. Just can’t seem to figure it out. It’s like a lingering problem all this year, so it’s kind of p—–g me off.“
He then responded when asked how he feels he has evolved as a golfer over the past couple of years.
Hovland said, “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.
“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.“
Viktor Hovland’s 2025 US Open stats
Hovland has a great chance to win the US Open on Sunday.
He is three shots adrift of the leader, Sam Burns, with 18 holes left to play.
However, he will have to brush up on his driving and indeed his putting, if he is to lift the trophy.
| Statistical category | Hovland’s rank at the US Open |
| Strokes gained off the tee | 38th |
| Strokes gained approach | 3rd |
| Strokes gained scrambling | 3rd |
| Strokes gained putting | 51st |
Viktor Hovland is a really likeable character, and he’d be a very popular winner of the US Open.
Whether he is capable of getting the job done on Sunday remains to be seen though.
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