Dame Laura Davies believes that Scottie Scheffler made it clear just how frustrated he was with Viktor Hovland’s pace of play when the world number one headed to the next tee before the Norwegian had finished putting on one green.
Sunday at the Travelers Championship looked set to be a duel between Scheffler and Hovland, with the latter taking a one-shot lead into the final round at TPC River Highlands.
What did you think of Scottie Scheffler's reaction to Viktor Hovland's slow play?
Was Scottie out of line to head to the next tee while Viktor was still putting?
Unfortunately for Hovland, he got off to a really poor start in Connecticut. He made a bogey on the first hole before following that with another on the sixth.
Scottie Scheffler gets frustrated with Viktor Hovland in the final round of the Travelers Championship
That left him two shots behind Scottie Scheffler – who was not exactly in the best position to see the 28-year-old complete the hole.
Hovland was extremely deliberate with his play over the first few holes, and it seems that got to Scheffler. Rather than stand by the side of the green as Hovland holed his putt on the sixth, the American could be seen getting ready on the next tee.
And speaking on Sky Sports, Dame Laura Davies suggested that Scheffler was getting annoyed with his playing partner.
“I genuinely think he’s taking too much time over everything. He’s overthinking it,” she said. “The putt back on the par three took forever. That one took forever.
“I think Scottie’s getting a little bit irritated with him because you rarely see a top pro go to the next tee. It’s kind of a message, ‘come on, buddy, let’s speed up’.”
Rich Beem added: “Yeah, I love it.
“I love Scottie saying, ‘you’re going to play at my pace, I’m not slowing down to yours’.
“Yesterday seemed to be instinctive and listen when you shoot 61, everything is instinctive. There’s no second guessing anything.
“Come Sunday, when you haven’t been in the mix all that often as of late, sometimes you kind of lean back on technique, which he’s prone to do.”
Why some will not have been impressed by Viktor Hovland’s actions at TPC River Highlands
Hovland’s pace of play may open up another debate about whether AimPoint should be allowed on the PGA Tour. The Norwegian is one of the players who uses his feet to help him read the putting surfaces.
There is certainly a perception among some that it is too time consuming. Others believe it is unfair to a player’s partners to be stepping around the hole when not picking the ball out of the cup.
Lucas Glover previously called for AimPoint to be banned, as he believes that it is rude.
Hovland almost appeared to be struggling with his confidence on the greens on Sunday. There were several occasions when he took a long time to actually hit a putt.
It was a reminder of why he is well down the standings on the PGA Tour when it comes to putting this year. It was a real shame given how well Hovland had played to put himself in front in the first place.
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