Viktor Hovland is a winner on the PGA Tour once again after he overcame Justin Thomas to win the Valspar Championship.
Hovland admitted he was struggling with his game throughout the week but showed great grit, determination and quality to usurp Thomas and win by one shot.
Hovland’s two birdies in the final three holes proved decisive as Thomas stuttered with two bogeys in three.
However, things looked completely different just a few holes back.
Thomas had made birdie to go three clear of Hovland with just three holes to play and it looked like game over.
And speaking to the media after his round, Hovland has revealed some insight into his own mind when he knew Thomas was so far clear.
Viktor Hovland explains his thought process when Justin Thomas went three ahead at the Valspar
As always, Viktor Hovland was honest in his post match interview and he admitted he’d not even expected to win this weekend.
Indeed, when it came to Thomas going three clear at 15, Hovland has revealed that seeing Thomas go ahead actually helped him calm down.
“I think when JT made a birdie on 15 and was three shots ahead I still just felt really calm and I wasn’t really stressing even though I probably knew I had to make my putt on 14,” Hovland explained. “When that went in I felt really calm there. And just hit good shots and made some putts, it was awesome.
Elaborating further on if he was keeping tabs on the leaderboard, Hovland admitted he’d noted Thomas’ bogey run.
“I saw we were tied, there was a bunch of guys tied, at the end of my front nine and the start of the back. Then we didn’t really have any leader boards early on there but I heard some noise ahead and knew he was up in front, and then saw he was 10 and 11 [under] there on 13 and knew I had to make some birdies coming in..”
Viktor Hovland’s iron play wins him the Valspar Championship
Winning golf tournaments is about making big putts and playing the right shot at the right time but on this occasion, it was Hovland’s approach play that led him to victory.
Hovland appeared dialled in with his irons all weekend and on Sunday, that continued.
Indeed, in a stat shared by Justin Ray, the improvement in Hovland’s approach and proximity to the pin was striking, as he topped the board in the final round.
There is a lot to like about Viktor Hovland and his battling qualities were on full display at the Valspar.
With the irons seemingly now in check, it will be interesting to see if he uses this as a stepping stone to further improvements.
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