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Viktor Hovland has made his way and is fighting for victory in the Dubai tournament on the European tour. Photo: Robert Fedez / AP / NTB
Viktor Hovland shined from the first hole and played straight into the title fight with a strong 66 rounds on the European tour in Dubai.
The Norwegian golf star continued the previous day’s progress with a monster round on Saturday. With six birdies, he rose from 12th place.
After the round is over, he is in fourth place shared with -10. Three players have −11.
– Today I managed to hit my shots a little closer, and I hit the shots a little better. I also made a couple of good putts early, and had a boost early on, Hovland said after the round.
– Viktor’s brilliant round. He has performed well in the long game on Thursday and Friday as well, but got closer to the stick today. Plus, he also hit a few more putts and found his rhythm on the green, says Eurosport golf expert Marius Thorp.
Before the third round, Hovland was six shots behind Patrick Reed, but right now the hatch to the top is closed. He leads the tournament together with several players, and several of them are still in action.
Already on the first hole on Saturday, Hovland showed that he was serious. There was a birdie and he copied the performance on the next two holes.
He continued to climb the results charts with birdies on holes 5, 10 and 15. The rest of the round played on par. On Sunday everything will be decided.
If Hovland wants to participate in next year’s Ryder Cup in September, he must have played four tournaments on the European tour. That’s the reason why the Norwegian PGA profile is in action in Dubai before taking a Christmas break.
– I grew up watching the European tour, because it is much closer to Norway. I already have a couple of wins on the PGA Tour. It would be nice to add a European tour owner to the CV, Hovland said.
The 23-year-old won his second PGA tournament last weekend when he rose to the top in Playa del Carmen in Mexico. The victory gave him a boost in the world rankings from 26 to 15 place.
– It doesn’t feel too bad. It feels a lot better now than when we started, but it’s hard when I wake up in the morning, Hovland said of the long drive from Mexico to Dubai.
