Hovland shoots 72 to lead amateur field

Viktor Hovland qualified for his first Masters with a dominating performance at the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach in August, taking down UCLA sophomore Devon Bling 6 and 5 to punch his ticket to Augusta National.

The junior from Oklahoma State became the first Norwegian to play in the Masters on Thursday, and he did his country proud by shooting an even-par 72. The 21-year-old sits atop the amateur field, with three players at 1-over par, and he's in a tie for 29th overall.

Hovland helped lead the Cowboys to the 2018 NCAA championship, and he has Oklahoma State coach Alan Bratton on his bag this week.

"It was really fun. I hit some good shots, and hit some bad ones. And I had some really cool moments that I’ll try to take advantage of for the rest of the week," said Hovland, who plans to turn professional after the U.S. Open in Pebble Beach in June.

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One of those moments came at the par-3 16th hole, where Hovland dialed in an 8-iron that left him a kick-in birdie putt of two feet.

"It sounded like it was pretty close," Hovland said, noting the reaction of the patrons when his shot nearly went in.

Hovland was coming off an impressive birdie at No. 15, where he pulled his tee shot left and then hooked a 6-iron onto the green for a two-putt birdie. He made a nice recovery on No. 17 after a tee shot that wandered left and saved par.

"That stretch from No. 15 to 17, pretty sweet," Hovland said. "I was a little more nervous than when I'm slapping the ball around with my college friends ... With all the people and everything here, you feel it a bit more."

Takumi Kanaya of Japan, Mexico's Alvaro Ortiz and Jovan Rebula of South Africa all shot 1-over and are in a tie for 44th with a good chance to make the cut. Bling shot 74, and Mid-Amateur champion Kevin O'Connell carded 77.

Kanaya qualified as the winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. He was in a tie for ninth coming to the 17th hole at 1-under, when he took a double bogey. He started out red hot with birdies at No. 1, where he drained a 27-footer, and No. 2 and was tied atop the leaderboard for about half an hour in the morning.

"It was like a dream come true to start birdie, birdie and see your name on top of the board," the 20-year-old from Hiroshima said through an interpreter. "It was pretty neat. Compared to the practice rounds I felt nervous on the first tee. I pulled it left, but made a good second shot and was able to make birdie."

Ortiz had a strong contingent of friends and family following along.

"I was really nervous the first few holes, but I definitely started feeling more comfortable on the back nine," said Ortiz, who qualified as the winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship. "I was doing things right but left a few shots out on Amen Corner. But I was happy with the way I played, and to share it with my family and friends made it more special. They helped me calm down and know that it didn't matter what happened, I was going to be all right."

Rebula got some motivation from his uncle, Ernie Els, and put together a solid round. The junior from South Africa plays at Auburn and qualified for his first Masters as the winner of the British Amateur.

He had birdies on No. 12, knocking in a 10-footer, and at No. 13. He closed strong with a birdie on No. 17, holing a 17-foot putt.

He said he wasn't able to play a practice round with Els, but he has been on the phone with his uncle a lot this week.

"I wasn't able to play with my him because of our schedules," Rebula said. "But we were speaking a good bit over the phone this week and the main thing I took away was that he said, 'You're a good golfer and you're here for a reason,' which kind of gave me some belief."

Bling had his third career ace in the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday, holing a sand wedge on the seventh hole. He was playing well Thursday until a double bogey on No. 18.

"I hit it well all day, and I was fighting as hard as I could," Bling said. "Just had a little slip off the tee on No. 18. I was nervous today, but I really enjoyed it."

O'Connell said his first competitive round at Augusta was much different than his practice rounds.

"The guys I played with told me that you feel like you have the course kind of figured out in terms of conditions, then you show up on Thursday and it will be a lot faster and a little firmer than you thought it would be," the 30-year-old from North Carolina said. "And they were right. The greens, especially on the second nine ... got a lot faster."