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Viktor Hovland shoots 6-under 64 | Round 3 Highlights | Travelers Championship
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Erling Haaland is one of the most beautiful goalscorers in the beautiful game. The Norwegian superstar is a dominant force in the Premier League and, at 25, is already the country’s best putter in the back of the net.
Victor Hovland close in age (but certainly not in height) to Haaland. But he, like any Norwegian, is fascinated by his compatriot’s recent success at the World Cup. And while Hovland is already the nation’s top men’s golfer (Suzanne Pettersen is certainly at the top of the women’s podium), he can appreciate the effort it takes to get to the top.
Buoyed by Norway’s early successes at the World Championships and the continued support of the fans (more on the celebratory “squabble” later), Hovland looks to the best golfer and has a one-stroke lead. Scotty Scheffler at the Travelers Championship heading into Sunday’s finals.
“It was a lot of fun. Just had a great time. You know, I haven’t been in a position like this in a long time,” Hovland said of his match on Saturday 64. “Going toe-to-toe with the best player in the world and making some great shots, it was a lot of fun.”
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Viktor Hovland shoots 6-under 64 | Round 3 Highlights | Travelers Championship
Hovland won last year’s Valspar Championship, breaking a two-year winless drought. He had two top-10 finishes this season but withdrew from the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday after missing the cut at the PGA Championship. He also missed the cut for last week’s US Open. However, in between that he finished third in singles at the RBC Canadian Open, his best finish of 2026 and his debut in Canada.
โObviously I finished third in Canada a couple of weeks ago and I felt like I was on the right track, but I scored terrible last week and I just didnโt feel very comfortable,โ Hovland admitted. “I’ve had some really bad misses, but I’ve seen a lot of progress. So, going into this week, I feel like I can easily turn it into a really good week.”
“I don’t know. It’s a crazy game.”
Hovland said he kept the process laser-like all week. He said the score didn’t mean much, but he was obviously delighted with the numbers he saw when he added it all up at the end of the day.
“Once I find a certain feel that I can trust and it creates a pretty solid shot shape, I know I can score pretty well from there. So if I happen to shoot 2 under, or 6 under, or 9 under, that’s kind of not the point. Once I see the shots I’m trying to hit, that gives me confidence,” Hovland said. โThen thatโs a bonus, too, and being able to do it at this stage and in front of so many people.โ
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As World Cup fever grips North America, fans in Norway have taken their iconic rowing celebration to the continent’s biggest cities.
โWeโre Vikings,โ Hovland said with a smile about rowing. โItโs kind of in our DNA.
“It’s pretty funny. It’s the first time I’ve seen that. I think it’s the first time we’ve done it, especially at the World Cup. It took us 1,000 years to figure it out. Yeah, I think it’s pretty cool.”
Hovland hasn’t given a global audience as many achievements to cheer on as fellow soccer star Haaland, but another TOUR victory on Sunday – especially over Scheffler – may put the soccer festivities on hold to allow the Norwegian faithful to focus on golf.
“Scotty and I have played a lot, and I’d like to think about most guys in this area: We’re professionals and it shouldn’t really matter who we play, but it does make a little difference. We have a good rapport and I think we both have a lot of respect for each other’s games,” Hovland said. โScotty and I have separated ourselves from the rest of the players but at the same time the under 14 or 15 players are still very important if they go out tomorrow and score very low.โ
However, Hovland is in the best position to cross the finish line.