2023 Masters: Viktor Hovland’s gamble, short game produce first sub-70 Masters round

AUGUSTA, Ga. – As an avid poker player, Viktor Hovland would consider himself a bit of a gambler.

Trying to finish off a bogey-free round Thursday at Augusta National’s par-4 closing hole, Hovland found himself short-sided in the right greenside bunker. The direct line, or the safe play, would likely see the ball kick forward off a severe downslope and leave Hovland, at best, with a 15-footer for par.

“Or,” as Hovland explained, “I could try to get a little cute with it and take the slope, and if I got enough spin on it, it would take the slope and go directly down.”

Full-field scores from the 87th Masters Tournament

He took the risk, and it paid off handsomely with just 8 feet left for par, which Hovland converted to cap a 7-under 65, eventually tying Hovland atop the Masters leaderboard with Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.

“You probably shouldn’t find out and see if you can hit the shot or not at the Masters,” Hovland added with a big laugh, “but you’ve got to try them out somewhere. Today I pulled a lot of those shots off, so that’s fun. It just gives me more and more confidence.”

Hovland’s first round in the 60s in what is now 13 rounds at Augusta National was sparked by an eagle at the par-5 second, where Hovland hit 6-iron from 191 meters (209 yards) to 25 feet and holed the putt. But it was kept going by his short game, as Hovland, who ranked No. 191 (better than just two Tour pros) in strokes gained: around-the-green last season, went 5-for-5 in scrambling, which so far was tops in the field.

Earlier this year, Hovland started working with instructor Joe Mayo, who has helped Hovland make some small improvements with his chipping, notably making his motion less rotational and steeper while negating some of the back lean that Hovland had developed in his setup.

“I don’t care how good you hit it out here, you have to chip the ball,” said Hovland, who hasn’t finished worse than T-32 in three career Masters starts but also hasn’t cracked the top 20. “You have to have a short game. And especially on that back nine when I hit a lot of bad shots, to be honest, but I managed to keep myself in it by hitting some really nice chips and making some really nice putts.”

Hovland also was asked about last summer’s Open Championship, where he’d heard some criticism from a few people who accused him of being too conservative off the tee during a final-round 74 that knocked the Norwegian back to T-4. He noted that he didn’t have his best stuff that week, instead getting hot with the putter through three days to get himself into the final pairing.

“I feel like my skill set is a lot better right now, and I think I would have wanted to play that Sunday again, this week, for example,” Hovland said. “That would have been a lot of fun.”

Hovland, though, isn’t going to get “too cocky” this week. He knows rain could soften the greens and make them more receptive, but if he pushes in a few too many spots that he shouldn’t?

“It will punish you very quickly,” he said.

“So, you know a good score is out there, but you can’t really force it,” Hovland added. “You’ve just got to let it happen, and if you have some makeable putts, you’ve got to make them.”

Hovland clearly knows when to hole ‘em, and that he shouldn’t count his money just yet.

But at Augusta National, sometimes it also requires one to be the gambler.

And Hovland is comfortable being that, too.