Viktor Hovland

Hovland started his day just one shot off the lead and traded three birdies with three bogeys over the first 14 holes. A scuffed chip was particularly painful at the par-3 12th but he kept churning along and landed two birdies in the final four holes to apply the pressure to Denny McCarthy down the stretch. Hovland needed just one hole in the playoff to finish the deal and is now a four-time PGA TOUR winner. This was his first in the continental United States. Hovland will bring a full tank of momentum into the U.S. Open in two weeks. In addition to this recent form, he's posted top 10s in each of the last three majors. 

Hovland was going toe-to-toe with Brooks Koepka all day but trouble at the par-4 16th ultimately put the nail in his coffin. He found a fairway bunker off the tee then hit the lip on his way out, eventually landing a double bogey with those two shots being the winning margin when all was said and done. Hovland may have settled for second place today, but he's picking up confidence with three straight top 10s in the majors. "To be in the last group, that was my second time and been in contention for three of these. That's pretty cool. There's another one coming up pretty soon." Around the green play is always a popular talking point with Hovland and he walked off the course ranked 10th in strokes gained around-the-green this week. It's another sign that his short game (and course management) is trending in the right direction. 

Hovland lost a few drives today but made up for it with lights-out approach play. He gained strokes on approach on 15 holes today, ending his day with +4.6 strokes gained approach (best in the field). It was a good start for the young Norwegian and he enjoys the tough test of Oak Hill, "I feel like this course fits me well, but it's one of those you can hit good shots and still miss fairways and greens, and that's where you do have to rely on your short game a little bit, but I hit a lot of greens today, so, obviously, that favored me." Hovland has settled for finishes of T33, T30, and T41 in three tries at the PGA Championship but he's on pace for a new personal best with 54 holes remaining. 

Hovland has been T14 or better after each of his last 10 stroke-play rounds, dating back to Bay Hill. That included his first time posting a first-round lead on the PGA TOUR last week at the Masters (T7 finish). He showed no sign of slowing down today, striping 11-of-14 fairways and landing 14 GIR. He also splashed home a trio of putts from outside of 15 feet including one to save par at the par-5 15th after his layup found water. "I'm just trying to play a bit more, not conservatively, but making sure that I hit more greens, center of the greens, and can kind of lean on my putter. And if I do miss a green, I feel like my short game's in a good spot where I can make an up and down." The conservative approach is working well so far. If this early lead holds then it'll be his second straight and second career first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR.