Viktor Hovland lost our openness but found what he needed

Viktor Hovland opened in Oakmont on Sunday, and the man seemed most likely to track 54-hole leader Sam Burns and engrave his name in the main championship history.

The 27-year-old Norwegian has been looking for the right feeling. When he won the FedEx Cup in 2023, he was at the top of the golf world and then tore his swing to find something better, purer, and felt more like Viktor Hovland. That search brought him into the wilderness. Forever, Hovland changes things forever (from swinging thoughts to coaches) as he tries to find something only he can find.

The search resulted in an unexpected victory in the Valspar Championship, beating Justin Thomas despite hitting what he called a “disgusting shot.” But he is rising from the wilderness. Although his swing still needs to be shaped, he is confident that he can play and compete while trying to take advantage of this elusive feeling.

In Oakmont, Hovland’s voyage found him entering the final round after the tough round of 71-68-70 began. 68 saw Hovland get “Our Open” on Friday but get a bad double bogey on second place, but responded to turning around the house and gave himself a weekend chance to have a swing that still requires work in a major in the first professional major.

Oakmont’s first three rounds reminded Viktor Hovland that despite his search for perfection in a game inherently full of mistakes, his unlimited search did not doom his current goal.

“I know, even if I don’t feel good, I can still get over the ball and get the ball somewhere,” Hofland said Saturday. I want to think my golf IQ is high, so I can still play games even if I don’t feel good. I feel like the way I get good at golf is the suboptimal one I have to play. When I was a kid, I still had to play, I played a big ball on Tee and then I could keep a certain score with you, but I still get along with you a lot, but I will know, I think of it, I think of it, I think of it, I think of it. In recent years, obviously I have had a good swing, I have played a lot of shots and it’s easier to score, and now I still have the ability to put the ball in the hole when I’m not that swaying. ”

At the U.S. Open, an increasingly optimized sport boils down to its original goal. This is not a test that requires you to keep the perfect test during the full flight, but a test that requires you to fight when revealing your flaws.

Hovland navigates the demand well through 54 holes. But after Saturday’s 70 season, Hovland was seated three times by Burns, and when asked about his desire to win the U.S. Open, he showed him his pure golf soul.

His pursuit always seems to be greater than filling the trophy case.

“We all want to win, which is why we practice so hard,” Hofland said. “But I want to be as passionate as I want to play. Just like I want to stand on a tee and play the shots I envisioned. It bothers me when the ball doesn’t do that.”

So Hovland arrived in Oakmont on Sunday, the only player in the top 10, and he ranks in the top 15 in the official world golf rankings. Even without the swing he longed for, everything was in front of Hovland on Sunday at Soggy in the iconic Oakmont. He has experience in the 2022 Open Championship and the 2023 PGA Championship, his iron performance is excellent in three rounds, and he has already flashed the mental perseverance he needs to not melt in the U.S. Open cauldron.

But things changed drastically throughout the round during a rainy and chaotic U.S. Open Sunday, and Viktor Hovland was unable to pass the final Oakmont Test.

He bogeyed back to back in 2nd and 3rd. He got one with the No. 5 Birds and then lost the No. 8 and No. 9 shots. But even though Hofland fought his driver and missed the putts needed to conquer the American open test, he still had a chance to hit the gasoline and snatch the trophy in the wet situation and get stuck in the wet situation.

Hovland started the back nine with five straight pars before missing the 10-foot-long 15-foot, and on the 15th front, the leader’s two shots behind. Hovland didn’t look at himself very well on the birdie in the 3rd 16 and watched his match partner and ultimate champion JJ Spaun drive the 4th 17 green to build an eagle look and manageable two birdies. Meanwhile, Hofland’s drive landed in the correct rough state. He turned around for the birdie, but Spaun was still kicked by two holes.

“>

With rainfall still falling in western Pennsylvania, Hofland’s open American dream was shattered even before Spaun canned a 64-foot birdie putt to place his sigh point on his life-changing victory.

Hovland hit 18, put the final effect in his third place before turning to Spaun and smiling.

“That’s an impressive guy, congratulations,” Hofland said.

When Spaun was about to carve his name onto the U.S. Open Trophy, Hovland handled it for a week, which could have been more, but still gave him what he needed.

“I’ve been tearing myself apart,” Hofland said Sunday. “Even though I did know I needed to do something and then go back to the mechanical way I used to be, I could still be very high during this time and there were a lot of good stuff.

So Viktor Hovland exited his search.