Viktor Hovland has looked like a shell of himself throughout 2024. He missed the cut in three of four majors and finished the regular season ranked 57th in the FedEx Cup standings—a far cry from how he played a year ago.
So, given that the top 50 players qualify for next week’s BMW Championship in Colorado and gain entry into all eight Signature Events in 2025, Hovland needed to turn in a good performance in Memphis. And so far, he has.
The 26-year-old Norwegian fired a much-needed 7-under 63 on Friday to soar up the leaderboard by nearly 40 places. He is also currently projected to finish inside the top 50.
“That was a lot more fun,” Hovland said.
“Yeah, eight birdies and a 63, that makes it a lot more fun.”
Hovland made six of those par-breakers on the front nine to go out with an opening 30. His lone dropped shot of the day came at the challenging par-4 5th, thanks to a missed tee shot that found the fairway bunker. But he rallied from that mistake with three consecutive birdies at the 7th, 8th, and 9th.
His two others came on the par-5 16th and par-4 17th holes later in the round, thus wrapping up a brilliant day on the course.
Hovland’s 63 is the lowest score he has shot all season on the PGA Tour. His previous best came during the third round of the Travelers Championship, when he shot a 64 and ultimately tied for 20th. But the stakes are much greater this week in Memphis.
Yet, Hovland is not letting that extra pressure get to him.
“It’s still the same game plan,” Hovland said.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25575651/2167035235.jpg)
“I just happened to get off to a nice start and ride the momentum from there.”
His putter was a huge momentum boost early, as Hovland ultimately holed 126 feet worth of putts on Friday.
“I started making everything. That was definitely nice. Definitely hit some nice approach shots, as well. I think I had three or four tap-ins for birdie. Three of them were early on, so that was nice,” Hovland explained.
“My misses are getting a little bit tighter, so that’s nice. But it still doesn’t quite feel where it’s supposed to be, but it’s still nice to see when things are a little bit off, I can still go out here and shoot a really good score.”
No doubt that Hovland still has plenty of work to do to regain the form that won him the FedEx Cup a season ago. But he believes he is headed in the right direction, which is a positive sign for the two-time Ryder Cup star.
“At least now I can hit some shots where, okay, that’s the old stuff that looks like and feels like what it used to. So that’s very positive,” Hovland added.
“Then, other shots, I revert back to some old habits. It’s just kind of continuing to work on the things that I’m working on, and hopefully, I’ll see more of the good swings again.”
He made plenty of solid swings on Friday, and if he can continue to do so over the weekend, he will have no trouble making it to Colorado next week for the BMW Championship.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
