Viktor Hovland said ‘I just got U.S. Open-ed’ but he’s in contention

OAKMONT, Pa. – Viktor Hovland is feeling better about his golf swing.

Speaking of Thursday’s first round at the 125th U.S. Open, he said, “That was the best ball-striking round in a long time. It’s felt better before but it’s hard to argue with the statistics.”

To that point, Hovland ranks first in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green this week.

Hovland is his harshest critic so for him to sing his own praises is telling. He won the Valspar Championship in March but even in his winner’s press conference he complained that his swing needed a lot more work. Other low rounds, he’s described as smoke and mirrors but his confidence in repeating his swing is on the rise.

On an overcast Friday, a few of his bad habits crept into his swing but he made five birdies and an eagle and signed for 2-under 68 at Oakmont Country Club. He improved to 1-under 139 at the halfway point.

“Some of the shots I’ve been hitting the last couple days, it’s been just fun,” he said. 

Hovland has been trying to rediscover the magic of his 2023 season when he was the FedEx Cup champion and climbed to world No. 3. He made the game look easy. “Maybe got a little bit of a taste of what Scottie Scheffler feels like when he steps on the first tee,” he said of that magical season.

Hovland, who has changed swing coaches the way Elizabeth Taylor used to change husbands, reunited with Grant Waite in March, and they’ve been making progress.

2025 U.S. Open leaderboard, live updates Keep tabs on the second round at Oakmont

“Earlier this week was very happy with some of the shots that I was hitting out there in the practice rounds,” he said. “Super excited that I was able to take that out with me in the tournament.” 

Hovland also has arrived this week with a positive attitude. After a poor putting round on Thursday, he flipped the switch on Friday, beginning the day by holing a 53-foot birdie putt from the fringe at No. 10. Later, he holed out a pitch for eagle at 17 but caught a bad lie at the second hole in a bunker near the lip.

“Did a good job just to get it out in the fairway…and actually made a nice two-putt for a double bogey,” he said.

He turned to caddie Shay Knight and said, “I just got U.S. Opened right there.”

But Hovland didn’t let his round implode. “There’s not much you can do about it,” he said. “I could have potentially lost my mind there a little bit. But I felt like I kept things together very well.” 

That he did and it’s his new-found confidence that he’s striping it again that makes him a dangerous man this weekend.

“I’m very pleased with 2-under par, but also I know that I was 4-under at some point, and missed a short putt on 6 and three-putted No. 8,” Hovland said. “So it’s like very pleased, but also, man, that could have been a little bit lower.”