Hovland has one last chance to impress

Viktor Hovland didn’t have too much to complain about after Saturday’s third round of the Masters.

After all, the U.S. Amateur champion is at 2-under-par 214 heading into the final round.

Augusta National is a difficult course, and he’s learning that. But he’s also learning to not use that as an excuse and stick to his game plan at attacking the greens.

“I try to keep the same game plan depending on where they place the pins,” Hovland said. “Some of the pins you shouldn’t really go for, so I try to be patient and hit it in the middle of the green, and then maybe that same hole the next day that pin is different, so maybe you can go for it. It’s more just depending on where the pin is, but I try to make the percentage play every time.”

PHOTOS: Third Round at Augusta National

He managed to hit 14 greens in regulation Saturday and totaled 32 putts, even though he felt the course played easiest of the three days. His playing partner the first two rounds, Webb Simpson, climbed up the leaderboard and, had a few shots gone Hovland’s way, he believes he could be chasing the leaders as well. 

“I feel like I left a lot of shots out there, even though I made a couple of putts here and there and had some really good recovery shots,” Hovland said. “But still feel like I’m leaving a lot of shots out there.”

He’ll have Sunday to right some of his shots and leave Augusta with some pointers as he finishes out his amateur season. 

“I think it gives me more confidence knowing that I haven’t played my best game yet and still able to make cuts out here and compete with the best players in the world,” Hovland said. “But it would be nice to really play well one week and really see where my game sits then.”