Viktor Hovland has admitted that he is somewhat baffled by those who decided to take a three wood off the 13th tee at Royal Birkdale during the opening round of The Open Championship.
It was a mixed day for the Norwegian in Southport. He finished the opening round at level par after making three birdies and three bogeys.
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One of the most hard-fought pars came on the 13th hole, with Hovland hitting his tee shot 235 yards, leaving 245 yards into the par four.
Hovland was clearly wary of ending up in one of the fairway bunkers. But it would appear that not everyone in the field had the same concerns.
Viktor Hovland surprised by how some approached the 13th hole at Royal Birkdale
It was put to Hovland that others were looking to use a three wood off that tee to try and take the trouble out of play. He did not appear to see the logic in such an approach.
“I find that one kind of strange. Obviously that takes the left hazard out of play, but there’s so many bunkers there. I just don’t really see that one,” he said.
“I hit a terrible three iron. But in the practice round it was in and off the left, so I hit driver. It was a very difficult tee ball. Today it was more out of the left so I tried to hit a three iron, hit a low one and chase it up there. I kind of sliced it in the right stuff,” he said.
“I think that’s kind of the play. It depends on the wind direction. But if it’s straight downwind maybe it’s just driver and send it, or three wood. I have a hard time seeing that one, to be honest.”
Hovland expected to hit more drivers on day one at The Open Championship
Hovland did not finish outside the top 13 in his first three starts at The Open Championship, going into the final day at St Andrews in 2022 leading the tournament.
The last two events have been much more of a struggle, with the 28-year-old missing the cut at Royal Troon in 2024.
That perhaps shows just how difficult it can be to master links golf. So much is down to the weather.
Royal Birkdale has been playing fast and fiery so far. And with that, Hovland admitted that he has not been able to use the driver as often he had initially planned.
“Yeah, I’d say I probably anticipated hitting more drivers. That’s what I did more in the practice rounds,” he said. “But I think in tournament conditions, I don’t know, it’s just a little bit easier to fall back and try to play a little bit short of a lot of these bunkers because you can hit driver a few more places and be okay, but you’d like to kind of take some of that luck element out of it if you feel like you’re hitting it pretty nice.
“It’s nice to try to give yourself a look from the fairway so you can kind of strategise your way around this course.”
Hovland’s comments highlight just how important strategy will be over the next three days. Certainly he has given himself a chance of winning a first major title with his start.
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