Hovland plays himself into Ryder Cup shake-up
STEVE STRICKER has a bulletproof Captain America in Patrick Reed but European skipper Pádraig Harrington has a superhero in-the-making in Norwegian star Viktor Hovland.
As Reed proved he’s impervious to accusations of cheating with his sensational WGC-Mexico Championship win over Bryson DeChambeau and European stars Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton, Hovland (22) won the Puerto Rico Open to emerge as a serious contender for a Ryder Cup debut in September.
Skipper Harrington made a point of playing with Hovland in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last September – the first event of the 2020 Ryder Cup qualifying campaign.
“He really does look like a fine player,” Harrington said, adding that what impressed him most was Hovland’s self-confidence.
Hovland is now a realistic Ryder Cup contender having moved up to 20th in the European World Points List thanks to his maiden professional victory in the Puerto Rico Open.
Shane Lowry edged a little closer to the automatic places, rising two spots to 14th in the World Points List thanks to his tie for 29th in Mexico.
Lowry, Harrington and Hovland will be reunited for this week’s Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens as McIlroy rests and Brooks Koepka returns to action hoping to regain second place in the world rankings from Rahm.
Reed is also taking the week off after his win. While he has been continuously dogged by accusations of cheating since he was penalised for improving his lie in the Hero World Challenge last December, he showed on Sunday that he is mentally one of the game’s strongest players.
“I knew all I needed to do was continue to try to improve on my golf game, but at the same time just block out all the noise, no matter what it was,” said the Texan, who was called out last week by Koepka and former CBS on-course commentator Peter Kostis for his past brushes with the rules.
Asked if he felt the world was against him, Reed added: “I’m used to it. It’s one of those things that at the end of the day, all I can control is me and what I do on and off the golf course.”
McIlroy, meanwhile, will take this week off to recharge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill after a mixed week in Mexico.
“Frustrating,” said the Holywood star, who finished fifth, four shots behind Reed, despite missing five putts inside five feet over the four rounds.
“I don’t feel like I got the best out of myself. Obviously I started the week well, and then I hit some loose shots, and I didn’t putt as well as I needed to over the last three days. I just let a few shots get away. I’m just looking forward to a week off.”