Q. How would you characterize the round today?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: It was definitely a bit more eventful today, I'd say, than yesterday. I felt like I hit it very solid, and it was very consistent yesterday, even though I didn't make a few putts. I leaned on my putter yesterday.
But today I was a bit more squirrelly, especially off the start, but got away with some great scores. Birdieing No. 3, making really an incredible birdie on 5, and great birdie on 7 and then again on 9. Just kind of got away with some really poor tee shots.
Then today on the back nine, I felt like I stabilized my game a little bit more and had a great finish there with some good birdies on 16 and 17. But it was definitely a little bit more difficult today with the wind.
Q. When you say you feel like you stabilized, to you what does that mean?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, just didn't have those big misses. I wouldn't say I striped it today, but at least I kind of kept the ball in front of me, and that's what you're trying to do on this golf course. Certain places if you're swinging it really well, you might try to push the ball up there a little bit, but you don't have to. So it's just trying to play to certain places where I can really put the ball close to the hole with my iron game, and that's what I did on the back nine.
Q. With all the work you've been putting in, being a range rat, you're always a tinkerer a little bit, where do you feel like the gains have you been this year as far as the ball-striking goes?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I had a pretty rough start to the year, to be fair. I felt like I've done a better job of scoring than I have maybe compared to last year. I'd say at times ball-striking was probably even worse at times this year than last year, but was able to chip and putt a little bit better, so the scores have been or the results have been a little bit better.
But I have been really struggling off the tee, but now I'm starting to see those big misses are happening less and less, and I'm getting more and more comfortable off the tee, and yeah, we're still not quite there yet, but really liking where the trajectory is headed. That's kind of all that matters.
Q. Was there a main focus of your early-week preparation in the full swing and getting it honed in for this course?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I really like to see the ball move left to right. I hit quite a few balls this week with the TrackMan out, and just finding a good feel. Also working on a certain movement but also trying to match that with a certain ball flight that I'm trying to see, which for me is left to right. I've gotten better at doing that.
There's some tee shots here that are really narrow, and I just want to be able to swing it, start the ball left and curve it to the right. That's kind of been the main focus.
Q. Were you happy with your swing today, would you say?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: It wasn't as good as yesterday. All in all, not really. I hit some really poor tee shots that I kind of got away with, but at the same time, I was really happy with how I was able to stabilize the round and not let it get off the tracks because in the past I could have done that.
Q. Matt Fitzpatrick has praised your work ethic in the last few weeks. You'll be playing with him tomorrow. What impresses you about him?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, he works so hard. He's extremely methodical. I think it's pretty cool to see other guys, they have their thing. They have their way of trying to get better, and he goes all in on that. He doesn't really care what other people say; he believes in what he's doing.
You look at his career, he just keeps winning tournaments and keeps getting better. If there's a deficiency in his game, he tackles it and gets better, and I find that very admirable.
Q. You had a great final round at Augusta. What did that mean having that under your belt coming here?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, it was awesome. I haven't really had that many rounds this year where I felt like it's clicked. Either I make a bunch of putts but then I hit it all over the place, so I don't really get that low of a score, or actually I might have a round where I feel like I'm actually hitting it quite well but then I don't make any putts, and they all kind of end up just being somewhat average rounds.
It was nice, especially at Augusta, when it's not an easy place, and to be 7-under through 14 holes was really cool, just to feel that again, hit the shots at a tough golf course and make the putts when you want to.
It was nice to be able to do that, and I think it put me in a better frame of mind going into this week.
Q. At events where there's no cut, sometimes do you feel more freed up to just play your game or a little more relaxed and not as aggressive?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I think obviously when you're trying to compete, you're trying to win, you're not really -- you shouldn't be thinking about the cut, but at the same time, where I've been struggling with my ball-striking a little bit, I've found myself around the cut line a bit more than I would have liked, and that obviously puts a little bit more pressure on you because you want to have a good tournament, and after two rounds you're only halfway there.
But you've got to make sure that you get to the weekend to have a chance to play well and climb the leaderboard. I think it does kind of relax you a little bit better or a little bit more, but at the same time, there's over 80 guys in the field that are all really hungry and trying to play well. You have to get after it and play your best.
Q. How do you approach the 18th hole here with the unique huge fairway?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, it was helping quite a bit today, and I needed to kind of take a little bit off my 3-wood, and I just hammered it and came off super knuckly. Today it went a little too far, but I got a little bit lucky it stayed up there in the rough.
But yeah, I haven't found that it really matters if you try to hit it left off the tee or right off the tee. You're just trying to put it in the fairway and give yourself a certain club, and then you usually try to hit a draw off the right side and try to feed it into those hole locations. It's a hard hole to make a birdie and get close, but it's also one that you shouldn't really bogey a whole lot, either.
Q. Have you gone up in the lighthouse at all?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: I haven't. It looks pretty cool.
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