Dave Feschuk: Viktor Hovland opens Masters the way playing partner Tiger Woods wishes he still could
Now Hovland is 25 years old, andAnd let’s just say Hovland knows Woods more as a legend of the past than a competitor of the moment.
“My heart kind of went a little bit further up in the throat, and I just thought, ‘Wow, this is going to be exciting.’ Heart rate started going up,” Hovland said. “After that, I calmed myself down and thought, this is going to be very exciting. You’ve just got to embrace it. You can’t be scared or anything like that. If you want to win this tournament, you can’t be scared about playing with Tiger.
With chillier, wetter weather in the forecast — and with Woods’s creaky joints presumably benefitting from Thursday’s heat — the climb back into contention seems improbable. Inching one’s way back in a tournament currently led by younger men with real firepower doesn’t seem like a viable strategy. On Thursday’s opening hole, the pressure of being among the favourites to win the green jacket seemed to be getting to Rahm, who four-putted for double bogey on No. 1. But such is the state of Rahm’s confidence that, rather than blow a red-faced gasket, he had himself a chuckle en route to the second tee.
What Rahm did next — play the ensuing 17 holes in a stunning 9 under par — was a clinic in unshakable will.
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