‘Got Some Experience’ – Viktor Hovland Optimistic About Winning Zurich Classic 2021

The highly anticipated Zurich Classic of New Orleans began on Thursday. Two teams are currently tied for the lead after Round 1 and the Norwegian duo of Viktor Hovland & Kris Ventura is one of them. The highly competitive pair believe they have what it takes to win the TPC Louisiana tournament. 

Hovland and Ventura both hail from Norway. But that’s not all. Both went of them went to Oklahoma State University and played golf together. So, Hovland and Ventura are both very familiar with each other’s games and want to achieve success together. 

The leading duo at Zurich Classic was asked how long have they been playing together. Given that they both went to OSU, Ventura acknowledged that he and Hovland have a lot of experience as teammates. Hovland backed up the statement too:

“Probably still a lot, yeah. We do those national team stuff. We’ve got some experience, Palmer Cup,” he told the media. 

Viktor Hovland named key factor behind Round 1 success 

Viktor Hovland and Kris Ventura climbed atop the Zurich Classic leaderboard by shooting 10-under par on Thursday. However, the team didn’t get off to the best of starts and was only 1-under through six holes. 

But they caught fire later on and surged to a top-placed finish. Hovland mentioned how the team found their spark after making an ordinary start at TPC Louisiana. 

“Kris [Ventura] decided to heat up his putter. That really helped. But I felt like we really played solid golf all 18 holes. It was hard to get really close to some of those pins, and that’s where you’ve just got to hit it to 20 feet and you make the putt, then that’s great,” Hovland said. 

But the Norwegian duo still has to play three more rounds at the Zurich Classic. While Viktor Hovland is a two-time PGA Tour winner, his teammate Kris Ventura is yet to win a title on the tour. 

They’re quite experienced as a team and the chemistry is flowing right. Hovland and Ventura certainly have what it takes to win the Zurich Classic 2021, but can they hold onto their good form for three more rounds at the challenging TPC Louisiana layout?

Read Also: ‘Bit of Envy’ – How PGA Tour Players Reacted to the New Player Impact Program