OAKMONT, Pa. – Even in victory, Viktor Hovland felt uncomfortable. That was in March, at the Valspar Championship, one of the most demanding weeks on the PGA Tour schedule, when Hovland timed up his work-in-progress swing, holed a few clutch putts late and – somehow – walked away with his first victory in 19 months.
“It’s still not great,” he said of his swing afterward, and that was while he was seated next to the trophy. Of course, this is the same mercurial player who once said that his chipping “sucks” – once again, after winning – and has considered withdrawing before major championships and has stumbled down countless internet rabbit holes in the search for marginal improvement. But this time, he was adamant that this was good – just not good enough.
“The recurring issues,” he said that victorious day three months ago, “are still the same there.”
Hovland has been accused of being too hard on himself, even if, to him, he’s just being realistic. Intensely self-aware. He reasons that being delusional about his prospects is no way to go through a career; just confront the issues, head-on, instead of simply hoping for the best.
Hovland has played sparingly this season – the Valspar is his only Tour start this season that wasn’t at a major or signature event – and that’s been intentional. He’d rather attempt to fine-tune his swing at home, on the range, than test himself in tournament conditions if he knows he isn’t ready.
So considering Hovland’s harsh self-critiques over the past two years, it’s worth listening to him now. He’s encouraged. Confident, even. The hard work in private, with swing coach Grant Waite, is now ready for public consumption.
“Still haven’t been overly confident in my ball-striking up until recently, but last week we saw some really good progress, and earlier this week I was very happy with some of the shots that I was hitting out there in the practice rounds,” he said, before adding: “Super excited that I was able to take that out with me in the tournament.”
Hovland was speaking Friday after posting a 2-under 68 that positioned him as one of just two players under par among the late-early starters here at the U.S. Open. At 1-under 139, Hovland was two shots off Sam Burns’ clubhouse lead.
There are still areas for Hovland to clean up. He pointed to a few miscues late in his second round: A short miss on 6, or when he aimed left and still hit a block-slice on 7, or when he three-putted from long range on 8. But overall, he was pleased with how he kept his head after a round that included an eagle, five birdies, three bogeys and a double.
“I’ve been in a really nice mental state,” he said. “A couple of times, if it would have happened at another tournament, I could have potentially lost my mind there a little bit. But I felt like I kept things together very well.”
That equanimity can be traced to his ball-striking. It’s easier to handle the occasional bogey when he knows he’s capable of getting the shot back. When his swing was in disarray, it put even more pressure on the rest of his game to be tidy, if not perfect.
Hovland is leading the field in strokes gained: tee to green through two rounds, a credit to his strong driving and pinpoint approach play. He has hit the second-most greens of any player, always a key statistic during a brutish Oakmont Open.
“I’m super happy with where we’re going,” he said. “We’re still not quite there, day-in and day-out. I’m still seeing a couple of (bad) drives … but it’s happening less and less frequently.”
So, too, is the amount of negative self-talk. Which can only mean one thing: He’s nearing a breakthrough.
