2 days ago
Viktor Hovland has another swing thought (of maybe 72?), he's near top at BMW Championship
OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Viktor Hovland has a good feeling again with his golf swing and it worked on Thursday. He posted a 3-under 67 at Caves Valley Golf Club to grab the early clubhouse lead at the BMW Championship. The last time Hovland said he found something with his swing? He won the Valspar Championship in March.
But it's probably more accurate to say that Hovland has found a better swing thought. He called it 'a Band-Aid fix' and is still frustrated with his driver. Asked if he's using the same swing thought that worked wonders in March, Hovland smiled and admitted, 'I've probably had 72 feels since then.'
The search continues for Hovland, who has changed coaches multiple times and gone down his share of rabbit holes in pursuit of finding the sort of consistency in his ballstriking he had two years ago when he won the BMW Championship with a final-round 61 at Olympia Fields in Chicago and captured the FedEx Cup the following week at East Lake in Atlanta.
'The comfort is not great,' Hovland conceded. 'The shot can be really good but it doesn't feel right. I know when the club is not in the right spot. It's tough to be aggressive. I always feel like I have to time things up.'
Hovland reached a career-best of No. 3 in the world after his heater two years ago, but his game hasn't been nearly as sharp in the ensuing two years. Still, he entered this week at a very respectable No. 15 in the world and is still grinding to get back up the mountain.
'It's been tough to see progress. This week, I feel like I found something that at least pushes it in the right direction,' Hovland said. 'It by no means gets it right – right how I want it to be and how I envision it – but it's certainly good enough to post a good score.'
Hovland attributed the Band-Aid fix to helping him get the start line on target. He made three birdies on the front side, but each was neutralized by what he chalked up to 'a dumb mistake,' such as when he followed up birdie at 8 with a 3-putt bogey at nine from 26 feet.
He dialed in the irons on the back nine, carding three birdies and no bogeys. Holed a bunker shot with his 60-degree wedge on 12, which he termed 'a huge bonus,' and helped him rank first in Strokes Gained: Around the Green. Otherwise, he called it a stress-free trip around the second nine. He wedged to 4 feet at the par-5 16th and then drilled a 5-iron to the downhill par-3 17th to 23 feet and canned the putt. Hovland gained more than three strokes on the field and ranked first in SG: Approach the Green and SG: Tee to Green.
Hovland entered the week at No. 28 in the FedEx Cup and he's projected to shoot up to fifth should he go on to win. There's a long way to go, but he's off to a good start to keep his streak alive of never missing the 30-man field at the Tour Championship.
'I don't intend to miss it this year,' he said.
Hovland, who finished T-2 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship to ensure he could defend his BMW title last year, has a knack for rising to the occasion at this time of year.
'Always?' he said. 'Do we have a large enough sample size to claim that? I don't know. I guess there's something about kind of having your back against the wall and having to perform. I think sometimes I can get too much into my head about swing mechanics and all that stuff, which I still think is important, but I think when you're in the playoff and I'm 28th and top 30 advances, it's like, all right, we kind of have to forget about that stuff a little bit this week and just go out there and play, and I do think that's definitely helping me in the short term.'
