Victor Hovland (24) was the all-time best during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Championship, entering the weekend alone in the lead.
A stinging racket really counted Viktor Hovland during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour. In total, there were seven birds during the day, and he had also saved himself brilliantly on several occasions.
– I saw the lines well, and was able to start the strikes on the line. Sometimes it’s like if you’re entering a pair (bat) early, Hovland says on the PGA Tour, it’s easy to go all day.
The Norwegian finished the day with just 23 strokes on 18 holes, and “earned” according to PGA Tour statistics on five strokes on the field with a racket during the second round.
– I didn’t know there were so few. I knew I was fine, says Hovland, but I didn’t know I was 23.
With a round of 66 strokes, six strokes are under par, a total of nine strokes are under par after the first two rounds. The Norwegian Tour was a better header than the second best round during Friday.
Before the last two rounds, he was twice ahead of the trio of Terrell Hutton, Taylor Gotsch and Rory McIlroy. Billy Horschel is behind Hovland by three strokes, while there are six strokes for players who share a sixth place.
Hovland has played his way up to fourth in the world rankings after winning three of his last seven tournaments, and is a good run ahead of an intense run for Hovland. Next week he will play the Players Championship, before the next two weeks he plays the Valspar Championship and the World Championships of Golf. After that, he will have a week off from the tournament, before the first major tournament of the year, The Masters (April 7-10).
The Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of the biggest tournaments on the PGA Tour as well as the major tournaments, a tournament that Viktor Hovland has played three times before.
The tournament was Hovland’s first successful entry on the PGA Tour, which he did as an amateur in 2019.
However, the best results were not for Hovland in the tournament. In 2019, it was at the 40th place, in 2020 it was at the 42nd place, while it was at the 49th place in 2021.
Last year, he was a split third after two rounds, but rounds of 77 strokes (five over par) and 78 strokes (six over par) in the last two rounds made him an unknown in the end.
I played well here a couple of days ago last year, but then I lost my head a little bit after playing badly. It’s easy to make two ghosts at the beginning of the round, and if you then try to force the birds out, you can get a slap in the face. I will try to be patient. I felt like I mastered it today, Hovland tells Eurosport.
During the first round, on Thursday, I went up and down a lot, but in the last four holes, he’s made three under-par strikes and made a good start – thanks in part to this slide:
Hovland was split eleventh after the first round, and in the second he really gained momentum in the game. With only seven birds and one ghost, it was a round of 66 strokes, and six strokes below par. Of the 14 rounds that Hovland has taken on the famous Bay Hills, this is his best by far.
Arnold Palmer has won a total of 62 times on the PGA Tour and is one of the greatest legends in golf. Palmer passed away in 2016 at the age of 87. Since 1979, the Arnold Palmer Invitational has hosted the PGA Tour – a tournament that Tiger Woods has won no fewer than eight times.
Previously, Hovland only fought three under-70 strokes (69 strokes in the opening round last year and this year, and 68 strokes in the second round last year) over Bay Hill in competition.
World number one John Ram made a name for himself with this knockout during the first round of this year’s tournament:
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