U.S. Open: Hovland Misses Cut After 7 Bogeys On Back Nine
Viktor Hovland went from inside of the Top 10 at the U.S. Open to missing the cut all in one day.
It was a bizarre second round for Viktor Hovland at the 2022 U.S. Open on Friday.
Two birdies across his first nine holes saw the talented young golfer climb inside of the top 10 on the leaderboard early in his round. Viktor Hovland had carded an opening 70 during Thursday’s opening round and he had placed himself firmly in the mix at even Par.
The Norwegian began the day just three shots behind overnight leader Adam Hadwin, but his time at The Country Club came to a swift conclusion after a disastrous second nine on Friday.
To say that the last two U.S. Opens for Hovland have been strange would be an understatement. It was just last year that Viktor had to withdraw from the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines after getting sand in his eye during a reported warm-up session.
Fast-forward to 2022 and Viktor Hovland endured another bizarre experience, this time it was not a withdrawal however, it was a historic collapse during his second nine.
Trouble began on the iconic 17th hole for the World’s eighth-ranked player. Hovland saw his approach into the green carry too much spin as it landed near the hole before proceeding to roll back down and off the sloping green.
He was then unable to get up and down for par and the result was a first dropped shot of the day for Viktor, little did he know how bad things would get from that moment on.
The six-time career winner dropped another shot on the 18th at The Country Club and made the turn at even for his round after an inward 35.
Hovland ties career-worst nine-hole score after 42 at U.S. Open
The 24-year-old Viktor completely fell apart on his second nine. He dropped a shot on each of his first four consecutive holes across the back half before adding three more bogeys to his card for a grand total of 7 across the nine holes.
The outward 42 ties a career-high score for Hovland, and it left him having recorded 9 bogeys for the round.
Hovland shot 42 on his second nine of the day, tying his highest 9-hole score as a pro. Golf is very difficult.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 17, 2022
Historic collapse from Hovland ends 2022 U.S. Open dream.
The Friday 77 means that Viktor goes from inside of the top 10 on the leaderboard to not even making the projected cut which figures to be around +4 when all is said and done. He finishes his championship at 7 over par in 2022.
The Norwegian has now made four appearances at the U.S. Open, his debut came in 2019 at Pebble Beach where he finished an excellent T12. He followed that up with a T13 the next year at Winged Foot.
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Hovland will be hoping that future U.S. Open experiences more closely resemble his first two, and not how things have gone in his last two trips.