Viktor Hovland is one of the raft of players who goes into the final round of the WM Phoenix Open with a real chance of victory, with the Norwegian four shots off the lead.
It may have come as a surprise to some that Viktor Hovland even played at the WM Phoenix Open this week, given that his past record at TPC Scottsdale is nothing to write home about.
What do you make of Brandel Chamblee’s comments on The Players Championship?
Chamblee raised some eyebrows with his comments on The Players…
“In every single way that a metric could be used to measure whether something is a major, the Players, to me, stands alone and above all the other four major championships as not just a major. It is in my estimation, the best major.“
Hovland is on course to record his best finish at the event by some distance. He is tied for 11th after a superb 65 on Saturday in Arizona.
And there is no question what the best part of his game was in the third round.
Viktor Hovland reacts to leading the field for putting on Saturday at the WM Phoenix Open
No one could match the 3.91 shots Hovland gained on the greens on Saturday, according to Data Golf. In fact, only Akshay Bhatia also gained more than three strokes with the putter in hand.
And speaking after his third round, Hovland explained a change that he made ahead of the event that is currently looking extremely inspired.
“Yeah, definitely made a lot of putts today. Made a grip change on my putter. Not how I hold it, but the actual grip itself. I feel way more stability over the ball and my speed control has been really good this week,” he said.
“So, yes, it’s awesome. I need to putt well with the way I’m hitting it off the tee. It’s nice.”
What Viktor Hovland has done for the first time in his career this week at TPC Scottsdale
It is the fourth time in his career that Hovland has played in the WM Phoenix Open. His most recent appearance actually came back in 2023.
He missed the cut in both 2020 and 2022. With that, this year became the first time that Hovland has managed to break 70 in a single round at TPC Scottsdale.
Hovland posted a 69 on Thursday before his superb 65 on Saturday.
You would think that he will need to replicate his third round display if he is going to stand any chance of winning, simply because of how many players are genuinely in the mix.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
