Viktor Hovland’s last full swing in competitive mode came on the 18th tee at Bethpage Black as Bob MacIntyre and the Norwegian were closing out Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley in the Saturday foursomes.
Just moments earlier, Hovland had holed a sliding 13-footer to halve the 17th and remain 1UP, and let out a burst of emotion.
Hovland was scheduled to play in the afternoon session alongside Matt Fitzpatrick – instead, Tyrrell Hatton appeared and Hovland was eventually forced to withdraw from the singles and watch nervously on the sidelines as the United States mounted a thrilling comeback.
It was a huge disappointment for Hovland, and for Harris English who was the man withdrawn from the other side.
“The whole situation was pretty upsetting,” Hovland told the press ahead of the DP World Tour’s India Championship.
“Just the fact that I didn’t get to play, and I felt really bad for Harris, who also didn’t get to play a match, even though there was nothing wrong with him.
“He just didn’t get to play, and he was upset about that, and I feel very bad for not being able to compete.
“[I] took about a week and a half off after the Ryder Cup and didn’t really touch a club, and then was kind of running out of time a little bit to make a decision if I wanted to come here or not.
“I played two 18-hole rounds in a row back-to-back, and my neck felt okay, so I decided to fly over here and give it a chance.”
That he was able to complete two full rounds without re-aggravating the injury was welcome news, but even more welcome news was forthcoming when he got his first look at the course at Delhi Golf Club and realised that he could afford to leave the driver in the bag for most of the week.
“I think one of the big things, you don’t have to hit driver out here, very much at least,” he said. “That definitely helps my neck because it’s definitely the driver, I think, that gives me the biggest amount of pain. Hopefully we’ll stick to the 3-iron, and the neck will be fine.
“I’ve been struggling with my driver, especially off the tee. I’ve been not hitting it very well this year. But my iron game has been very solid. So for me to kind of take the driver out of the bag where everyone has to hit irons, I think that definitely plays into my game, and hopefully I can hit a lot of greens and won’t have to chip that much.
“I only got to play five holes. I’ve never seen the golf course before. I got in last night. But I’ve got 18 holes tomorrow in the pro-am, so I’ll get to see the whole course. But from what it sounds like, I probably won’t hit any drivers out there. I think there’s a couple holes, maybe 10 and 14 and 18 is what I’ve heard potentially you can hit driver, but I think I’ll just kind of stick to the 3-iron or maybe 3-wood a couple places here and there. There will be a lot of irons this week.”
For a player that ranks second in Strokes-Gained-Approach on the PGA Tour, that’s just what the doctor ordered.
