CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Viktor Hovland was trying to keep up with Scottie Scheffler until he flipped the script on the final hole Saturday with a 6-foot birdie for a 6-under 64 that gave him a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Travelers Championship.
Scheffler from 25 feet on the fringe ran his putt some 8 feet past the cup and missed it coming back for a bogey and a 67, the first time he trailed all day.
It was the second straight year
Scheffler fell from the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend at the TPC River Highlands, though this was no cause for alarm. A year ago, he opened with a triple bogey, shot 72 and fell nine shots behind.
This was one hole, and he was only one shot behind as the world's No. 1 player tries to win for the first time since the start to his season in the California desert.
Hovland was at 20-under 190 and gets another afternoon with Scheffler on Sunday. The next closest players were Patrick Cantlay (64) and Akshay Bhatia (67), who were five shots behind.
“This is a golf course where you can see some numbers be shot. You know, guys can shoot pretty low,” Scheffler said. “Going into tomorrow just try to execute, have a good round, and see where that puts me.”
Scheffler is enormously popular and the TPC Highlands had a vocal gallery. Hovland had plenty of support from a Norway contingent that drove over from Boston following a World Cup loss to France. Hovland gave them plenty of opportunity to do the “row” that has become so popular in the stadium and subway stations and wherever they gather.
Hovland knows it well. Oddly enough, it was the first time he had seen it live.
“I mean, we're Vikings, so it's kind of in our DNA,” Hovland said. “It's kind of funny, that's the first time I've ever seen it. I think that's the first time we've ever done it, especially in the World Cup. So yeah, it took us 1,000 years to figure it out. I think it's pretty cool.”
Hovland started two shots behind and it took him four holes — three birdies — to catch Scheffler. From there, it was a bit of a pillow fight as they matched mostly pars, two birdies and one bogey to remain tied.
Scheffler regained the lead with a lob wedge to 2 feet on the 14th. Both got up-and-down from the front of the green on the reachable par-4 15th — Scheffler with a nifty chip that floated up the slope and trickled down to the pin — and exchanged pars going to the 18th.
That's where it flipped, giving Hovland the lead.
There was separation, but not a duel given the nature of this course that allows for low scoring and dynamic finishes because of the closing hole.
“The beauty of this golf course is that I think Scottie and I have separated ourselves from the rest of the field, but at the same time, 14 or 15 under is still very much in this thing if they go and shoot a very low score tomorrow,” Hovland said.
“So we still have to go out there and play very similar to what we did today,” he said. “Otherwise, we’re bringing in a lot more guys.”
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