Viktor Hovland Claims Early Masters Lead With Incredible Front-Nine 31

The Norwegian only had 13 putts during his opening nine at Augusta National.

Viktor Hovland is tearing up Augusta National and it’s only Thursday morning. The Norwegian carded a 5-under 31 on his opening nine to take an early two-shot lead at the 2023 Masters. He hit six of seven fairways on the front nine and tallied just 13 putts. 

Sporting a flashy pink floral J.Lindeberg polo, Hovland came out of the gates firing, making a 25-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 2nd hole. A streak of pars on holes 3-5 kept Hovland at 2 under for the day. 

Hovland closed out his front nine with three birdies among his final four holes. He made a pair of 10-footers on both the par-3 6th and the par-5 8th look easy, holing both for birdie. On No. 9, the Oklahoma State product stuck his approach to just three feet and cleaned up to pick up another shot. 

Viktor Hovland finishes the first nine birdie-birdie to secure a two-shot lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/xRdFBuEhES

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 6, 2023

Earlier this week, the 25-year-old spoke confidently about his game heading into his fourth Masters appearance. Hovland first made it to Augusta National as an amateur after winning the 2019 U.S. Amateur.

For the majority of his young career Hovland’s glaring weakness has been his short game, while he has thrived in other areas. But on Monday, Hovland told the media that his chipping woes are no longer an issue.

“I've just kind of kept continuing to gain confidence around the greens,” Hovland explained. “Got some weapons around the green here now. The bunker's not an auto-bogey. I feel like I can spin it in the bunkers even though the sand is a little bit fluffy. Short-sided is no problem.”

“I think I just understand the short game a lot better. I was too caught up in figuring out what I wanted to do with my hands and wrists where that wasn't really the issue. I was tilting back a bit too much. Once I saw what the best players are doing and how they chip well and I just tried to do the same, and it was kind of like a 'Eureka' moment.”