Norway’s king of golf is in great shape ahead of this weekend’s final in the Tour Championship – and his putting game is simply historic!
Viktor Hovland is ranked as the tournament’s very best putter so far this week, and that is a testament to a player in the form of his life. Together with American Ryan Gerard, he shares the lead with 10 strokes under par, after two completed rounds in Atlanta.
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– Birdie on the last hole sent Hovland to the top
Hovland, who was crowned FedEx Cup champion in 2023, once again showed his very best tactics as he delivered a brilliant round of 66 strokes – four under par. The decision came on the very last hole, where he secured a birdie that sent him straight into a shared lead.
Gerard had admittedly set the pace with an impressive round of 65 – five under par – but Hovland did not let himself be broken. On the contrary: the Norwegian’s putting was once again a pure pleasure to watch.
Still, it was Gerard who was responsible for the most spectacular moment of the week so far, when he rolled in an incomparable birdie putt of 78 feet – a putt that went the entire length of the green on hole 7 and gave the crowd something to really talk about!
– The stars are lurking just behind
Behind the two leaders lurk strong names on the leaderboard: Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup share third place with nine-under par, while world number one Scottie Scheffler has made a solid recovery.
Scheffler, who started the day with two early bogeys, showed a will to win and eventually delivered a round of 67 – five under par – and is just two strokes behind the lead in the PGA Tour’s prestigious season finale.
Cameron Young, who won the Players Championship in March, also played his way into the light with a brilliant round of 62. His scorecard included seven birdies and an eagle on the 18th hole, a par-five hole, which sent him into joint third place with eight-under par.
– The English lurk in the background
Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick from England are also clearly in contention for the staggering first prize of $10 million – equivalent to 7.4 million British pounds.
Rose delivered an immaculate round without a single bogey, and his round of 65 testifies that he is ready to challenge all the way to the finish line on Sunday night.
– Rory McIlroy is struggling – and frustration got the better of him
For Rory McIlroy, however, Friday was a day of frustration and fluctuating play.
The Northern Irishman did open with a birdie, but then most things went wrong. After four holes, he was already two over par, and the frustration was palpable.
The third hole became a nightmare: McIlroy missed the green with his approach, and then twice in a row he failed to chip the ball onto the putting surface from the exact same spot – resulting in a double bogey.
Although he rose towards the end with two birdies on the last three holes, the Masters champion is currently in a disappointingly shared 23rd place with three strokes under par. In other words, he needs a formidable recovery on Saturday if he is to interfere in the lead.
– Nightmare day for the Scotsman MacIntyre
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre also had a day he would rather forget – especially after hole number 10.
The 30-year-old Scotsman first sank three straight bogeys, before the nightmare was complete on the 15th hole, a par-3 hole. There, he sent the ball into the water from the tee, resulting in a double bogey.
He eventually finished with a 76 – six over par – and along with Min Woo Lee and Xander Schauffele was one of only three players to finish the round over par.
But even MacIntyre’s troubled round pales in comparison to the absurd story of Jacob Bridgeman. His random tee landed inside a pizza stall – one of the more bizarre moments of the tournament so far!
In other words, everything is set up for an exciting weekend in Atlanta – and Viktor Hovland is right in the middle of it!
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