CROMWELL, Conn. โ Viktor Hovland feels like heโs moving in the right direction, and Saturday at the Travelers Championship was a big test. He played alongside Scotty Scheffler on a course that has a lot of water and impacts that can cause some stress.
A two-putt swing at the 18th hole โ Hovland made birdie from 6 feet, Scheffler triple-putted from 25 feet on the fringe for bogey โ gave the Norwegian star a 6-under 64 and a one-stroke lead over the worldโs No. 1 player.
โJust had a great time,โ Hovland said. โItโs been a long time since Iโve been in this position. Going head-to-head with the best player in the world and making some great shots was a lot of fun.โ
The support he received from the crowd was a pleasant surprise.
Scheffler is extremely popular, and TPC Highlands has a vocal gallery. Hovland had great support from the Norwegian contingent, who traveled from Boston after the World Cup defeat to France. Hovland gave these fans plenty of opportunities to create the โdebaucheryโ that has become so popular in the stadium, subway stations and wherever they gather.
Viktor Hovland (right) birdied the 18th hole to lead Scotty Scheffler, who had a three-putt bogey, by one stroke. Scheffler fell from the top of the leaderboard at TPC River Highlands for the second year in a row. AP Photo/Jessica Hill
Hovland knows this well. Oddly enough, this was the first time he saw it live.
โI mean, weโre Vikings, so itโs kind of in our DNA,โ Hovland said. โItโs quite funny; This is the first time Iโve seen this. I think this is the first time weโve done this, especially at the World Championships. So yes, it took us 1000 years to figure this out. I think itโs pretty cool.โ
โRow, row, row!โ they chanted as Hovland approached the 18th green. This was followed by โUSA! USA!โ chants. It was good banter on a Saturday afternoon in New England, an example of why party applause is so much nicer in a World Cup year than in a Ryder Cup year.
It was the second year in a row that Scheffler, whose bogey gave him a 67, fell from the top of the leaderboard at TPC River Highlands, although it was not cause for alarm. A year ago, he opened a triple bogey, shot 72 and was nine shots behind.
It was one hole down and he was just one shot behind as Scheffler tries to win for the first time since starting his season in the California desert.
Hovland was listed at 20-190 and will have another day with Scheffler on Sunday. The next highest players were Patrick Cantlay (64) and Akshay Bhatia (67), five shots back.
โThis is a golf course where you can see some numbers hit. You know, guys can shoot pretty low,โ Scheffler said. โTomorrow Iโll just try to execute, have a good round and see where it takes me.โ
Hovland started two shots back and needed four holes and three birdies to catch Scheffler. After that they matched mostly pars, two birdies and one bogey to remain tied.
Scheffler retook the lead with a 2-foot putt at the 14th. Both were up and down from the front of the green at the par-4 15th โ Scheffler with a great chip that floated up the slope and trickled down to the pin โ and they traded pars at the 18th.
This is where everything changed and Hovland took the lead.
โThe outcome is goodโฆ but Iโm very process-oriented,โ Hovland said. โOnce I find a certain feeling that I can trust and it creates a pretty reliable shot shape, I know I can score pretty well from there. So if I happen to shoot 2 under, 6 under, or 9 under, itโs not the most important thing. Once I see the shots Iโm trying to hit, that gives me confidence.
โThen thatโs a bonus, too, and being able to do it at this stage and in front of so many people.โ
There was a split, but it wasnโt a duel given the nature of the course, which allows for low scores and dynamic finishes from behind the closing hole.
โThe beauty of this golf course is that I think Scotty and I have separated ourselves from the rest of the field, but at the same time the under 14 or 15 players are still very important if they go out tomorrow and score really low,โ Hovland said. โSo weโll still have to come out and play very similar to what we did today. Otherwise we will attract a lot more guys.โ