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EAGLE GLIS: Viktor Hovland could smile after lowering an eagle from the green bunker on the 16th hole. Here with caddy Shay Knight. Photo: JEFF GROSS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / NTB
After a rocky start in the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour, Viktor Hovland (23) has really found the big game in Las Vegas.
It looked dark after 15 holes in the first round of this weekend’s PGA tournament. But after a birdie on two of the last three holes on Thursday, Hovland was able to leave the course feeling good, despite his 55th position and three shots above par.
That feeling really took him away in the second round, where he started playing at the 10th hole.
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Hard start for Viktor Hovland in Las Vegas
On the 13th hole came the first birdie of the day. Then came the 16th hole, where he spun on Thursday. Hovland apparently seemed to end up in a bit of trouble when he hit his second shot in the green bunker.
The Norwegian stepped down to the sand, did what he was supposed to do and hit the ball on the green. He quietly stepped out of the arena, while caddy Shay Knight could see the ball rolling down an eagle’s hole (two hits below the pair of holes).
Television footage shows the same 23-year-old looking somewhat surprised, before discovering his finally familiar smile. See the battle on the PGA website here.
He had a good reason for that too, because there would be more reason for Hovland to smile. On the 18th hole he made a new birdie and, in the middle of the second round, he was four strokes below par, one stroke below total.
A bogey on hole 1 (Hovlands tenth of the day) did not seem to affect the 23-year-old, who birdied holes 4, 7 and 8 before the round ended.
At six under par for the day, he played from three shots over par to three under par. That was enough to jump 35 spots on the results list, to a shared 20th spot before the final two rounds at Shadow Creek field in Las Vegas.
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Xander Schauffele leads the tournament. He made an even stronger round than Hovland, after a 64-round Friday (eight shots below par). Therefore, he is a total of 14 strokes below par, 11 strokes ahead of the Norwegian hope. There are three shots ahead of Tyrrell Hatton, who so far is second, while Russell Henley has the third shot behind Hatton.
Only the top 60 from last year’s FedEx Cup, as well as players who have qualified through the Asian tour or the South Korean championship, will participate in the tournament in Las Vegas this weekend.
The winner takes a cash prize of just over 16 million crowns, while the second place takes just under ten million crowns.
Did you see this BMW Championship Hovland battle in late August?
