– Each time a Major ended, for some time now, two names and a question would recurrently arise: what exactly is happening with Joaquín Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton in these events, the most important of the year? It was so because time and again they were missed in the fight for victory, considering the extraordinary players they are. But something may finally be changing.
The Chilean, it’s true, missed the cut this week at Oakmont, but at least he achieved his first top ten in a major a month ago at the PGA at Quail Hollow. It’s not a minor detail. As for the Englishman, it can already be said that this week, at the US Open at Oakmont, he has achieved something he hadn’t until now: getting into one of the final three groups of the last round of a Major. Or almost the same: going out to play on Sunday with serious chances of victory and becoming a significant factor in the tournament’s outcome (*).
Indeed, Hatton will go out to play today with his +1 total alongside Carlos Ortiz in the third-to-last group and five shots behind the leader, a very considerable disadvantage, but one that still seems manageable. And it will be even more so if Tyrrell manages himself from the tee as he did on Saturday, as he only missed one fairway, something no one had done this week at Oakmont. He will need some help from Burns, Spaun, or Scott, the only three players remaining under par after 54 holes, but perhaps Hatton’s big moment has arrived. Or at the very least, the time to surpass that fifth-place finish he achieved at the Open in 2016, his best result to date in a Major. He, just in case, is very aware that there are many more things at stake than the victory: “I knew from the beginning of the year, and certainly last year, when I signed with LIV, that the majors were going to be very important for me. But yes, I would love to finish the week with a good result for the world ranking points, the Ryder Cup, and the Race to Dubai. There’s a lot at stake.”
– It’s striking how everyone’s perceptions work in the vast ocean of subjectivity. Those of Viktor Hovland regarding his game, for example, have us all amazed. Yesterday, after closing a solid round of 70 strokes and placing himself in the penultimate group on Sunday, three shots behind the leader, he pointed out that he was very proud of how he had been able to score without his best feelings. And that’s how he’s been all year, even after winning the Valspar. His appearance before the media yesterday was a bit of a puzzle. On one hand, he felt he had hit many very good irons and even listed them: “The 7-iron on the 9th hit the flag and made birdie and it was a very good shot after many other good shots. The 9-iron I used on the 5th, which spun back, was a great shot. The iron on the 6th was very good. The iron on the 7th was very good. The 8th was very good. The 9th was very good and the 10th too…” On the other hand, he later clarified: “Statistically, even this year, despite how bad I feel with the swing, the iron play has been really solid. So I know that, even if I don’t feel good, I can get the ball somewhere. I like to think that my golfing IQ is very high, so even if I don’t feel good or comfortable, I can play.”
Everyone’s perceptions are sacred, of course, but that doesn’t mean they are accurate or align with reality. That doesn’t mean either that everyone can’t choose how to perceive things. Hovland, like so many golfers, seeks to approach perfection, convinced that there must be an even more reliable way to be even more consistent in excellence. The issue is, dear Viktor, that what you’re looking for simply doesn’t exist.
– Another perception of the Norwegian regarding his round yesterday is that he had suffered a lot from the tee playing alongside a guy, Adam Scott, who “hadn’t missed a single shot.” That’s how he put it: Scott hasn’t missed a shot. It’s very true that yesterday the Australian played wonderful golf, but there’s another undeniable truth that tells us the Nordic player actually only missed one more fairway than Scott…
Now, let’s examine a small (but vital) nuance: the Australian himself described his second shot from the 18th fairway like this: “I didn’t have a good number and had to throw it to the right; I hit a terrible shot, but I threw it to the right so as not to miss it to the left and I think I did well.” One, the Norwegian, keeps talking about the swing. The other, the Australian, talks about golf.
(*) In 2018, in another US Open, that carnage at Shinnecock Hills, Hatton also started Sunday as a contender, four shots off the lead, although with more people ahead, as he went out five groups ahead of the last.
