Viktor Hovland stays under the radar to take clubhouse lead at RBC Heritage

Some brought good vibes with them from Augusta, others suffered a case of the post-Masters blues. Such is the game. But Viktor Hovland, for one, continued in a similar vein to a week ago, where he shared the first-round lead, when he shot a bogey-free seven-under-par 64 to assume the clubhouse lead in the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina.

“I think it’s a cliche to say, but it’s all right there in front of you. I’m a big fan of Pete Dye golf courses. I think they’re just awesome, and tree-lined golf courses, it’s pretty narrow, so I can kind of hit that drive where I tee down, grip it down a little bit, and just hit like a low bullet. It’s hard for me to hit a disastrous shot with that shot,” said the Norwegian after an impressive start to the $20 million tournament which is one of the PGA Tour’s elevated events.

Hovland’s brilliance from tee-to-green was matched by excellent putting in converting chances – he had seven birdies – to claim a one-stroke lead over Brian Harman, while US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, on a course well-suited to his game, was among those who signed for 66s.

The two Irish players in the field, Shane Lowry and Séamus Power, had mixed fortunes. Lowry continued to play well tee-to-green but still didn’t convert enough of his birdie opportunities in an opening 70 – two birdies and one bogey – while Power was a victim of the tough 18th hole where he ran up a triple-bogey seven in a disappointing opening round of 77 that has put him in a battle to survive the cut.

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Lowry started his round on the 10th and claimed his first birdie on the 13th where he hit a lovely wedge approach to two feet. His only bogey of the round came on the par-five fifth hole where he hit his approach into the right rough some 40 yards short of the green and failed to find the green with his third. He then pitched to 18 feet but missed his par-saving putt, tapping in for bogey.

On the drivable par-four ninth, Lowry’s tee shot found the front greenside bunker and he splashed out to three feet and converted his birdie putt. In fact, his bunker play was very good with a 100 per cent sand save statistic from three attempts.

Power’s round was erratic, with two birdies, five bogeys and that triple-bogey on the 18th where he hit his approach into the marshy native area. One problem followed another in his attempts to find the green, eventually reaching the putting surface with his fifth shot.

Hovland had no such issues in following up his fine Masters, where he claimed a tied-seventh place finish, with an error-free round.

The world number nine had seven birdies, including finishing with back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth holes in a round which required just 25 putts. On the occasions he did miss the green with his approach shots, Hovland showed his much-improved short game in managing to get up-and-down on the four occasions he needed to, most dramatically at the par-five 15th where he put his approach into the water but still salvaged par.

Hovland, who started on the 10th, had four straight pars to start before claiming his first birdie on the 14th and he was off and running. Of keeping his patience in the opening holes where he failed to convert some chances, he observed: “I just kept telling myself I’m hitting good putts, and instead of freaking out or questioning all the reads that you make, that’s not going to fix anything. I just kind of kept trusting the process and kind of cleared my head a little bit.”

“So when I’m standing over the ball, the only thing I’m thinking about is just speed. I’m not worried about the stroke or the read that I’ve already given because that should be all done when I’m standing over the ball. So kind of just going back to those principles.”