The situations have been ripe for the choosing at Albany within the third round of the 2022 Hero World Challenge. With gamers jockeying for place for a lot of the day, it was the in a single day chief Viktor Hovland who in the end made the largest of strikes. Carding 10 birdies in opposition to two bogeys, the world No. 12 loved the round of the event, signing for an 8-under 64 to take a seat at 13 underneath and prolong his lead to a few strokes.
“It was great, I just kept making birdies,” stated Hovland. “It was weird. Midway through the round I made a lot and it didn’t really feel like I had made that many. I kind of just kept playing golf and kept making putts. I stood on the 18th hole 9 under par. That was pretty sweet.”
Hovland was the beneficiary of some luck as nicely; gamers performed the ball down for the primary time all week. With Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and plenty of extra experiencing noticeable mud on their golf balls all through their rounds, Hovland was capable of keep away from such destiny.
The outcome for Hovland is a three-stroke lead as he makes an attempt to efficiently defend his crown from a yr in the past. Proving to be succesful on this setting, the 25-year-old has already gone back-to-back on the PGA Tour — the 2020 and 2021 World Wide Technology Championship — and appears prime to take action as soon as once more.
The chief
1. Viktor Hovland (-13)
Entering the third round with a one-stroke lead, Hovland noticed himself drift as many as two strokes behind throughout his entrance 9. Riding six back-nine birdies to the round of the event, he’s now in an enviable spot three away from the sector. Crediting his placing and the calm situations for the robust play, if the wind continues to lie down on Sunday, one other low round might be in retailer.
“I kind of putted terrible the first two days, but I attribute that a lot to the wind,” stated Hovland. “My strengths are really feeling the slope with the feet and when it starts blowing 30 mph, it’s hard to feel balanced enough to feel some of the nuances. Then as well, you have to play with the wind, so it was a lot easier today when it wasn’t as windy and I started everything on line and just felt like I was going to make everything.”
Other contenders
2. Scottie Scheffler (-10)
T3. Justin Thomas, Cameron Young (-8)
T5. Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele (-7)
7. Jon Rahm (-4)
8. Sepp Straka (-3)
T9. Sam Burns, Tony Finau (-2)
Morikawa entered the final round a yr in the past with a six-stroke benefit solely to implode and be tracked down by Hovland. One yr later, maybe the two-time main champion can return the favor as he’ll start Sunday six off the tempo set by the Norwegian. While a victory will not imply an ascension to world No. 1 like it will have final yr, it will mark his first journey to the winner’s circle in additional than a yr.
“Just go low,” Morikawa stated of his sport plan for the final round. “I’ve got to make birdies and if I just kind of get things rolling like I did at the beginning of that kind of back nine, hopefully we can just put together 18 of those and post a low number. That’s all I can do really tomorrow. Can’t control those guys.”
Tiger steals present from broadcast sales space
The 15-time main champion will not be competing this week, however that does not imply Tiger Woods is out of the general public eye. Joining the tv broadcast on Saturday, Woods spoke on his motivational stage to win once more, his son Charlie and even revisited the emotional one hundred and fiftieth Open at St. Andrews.
“It all of a sudden just started hitting me that I might not be back here again as a competitor and I started to kind of tear up a little bit,” Woods stated of his memorable stroll up the 18th gap on the Old Course. “I said, ‘Would you just suck it up and make a birdie here?'”
2022 Hero World Challenge up to date odds and picks
Odds by way of Caesars Sportsbook
- Viktor Hovland: 4/6
- Scottie Scheffler: 14/5
- Justin Thomas: 11-1
- Cameron Young: 16-1
- Xander Schauffele: 20-1
- Collin Morikawa: 28-1
Three strokes shouldn’t be insurmountable and Hovland is well-aware of this having come again from six in 2021. The dynamic between he and Scheffler within the final pair needs to be attention-grabbing as they have been in an identical place on the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which in the end went the best way of the Texan. I feel it should come down to only them two because it did final yr, and the outcome would be the similar with Hovland elevating the trophy.Â