Viktor Hovland shows off eye-catching two-step backswing during first pro event

Viktor Hovland has been capturing people’s attention for a while now — winning the U.S. Amateur, then finishing low-am at both the Masters and the U.S. Open tends to do that — but during his professional debut at the Travelers Championship it was Hovland’s swing that caught fans’ eyes.

During his final round of the tournament, Hovland was spotted using a stop-start backswing. You can see it below: He winds to the top of his backswing, pauses, then resumes his backswing by turning and then swinging through the ball.

Viktor Hovland reaching back for a little more power … 🧐 pic.twitter.com/3DfWsCYfF0

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 23, 2019

Some golf fans on Twitter said it looked like a better version of Charles Barkley’s infamous move.

https://twitter.com/87SmithA/status/1143132720026886145

This is what Charlse Barkley imagines when he swings https://t.co/0nbi5lqmhJ

— JT Reid (@JToryr) June 24, 2019

But, unlike Barkley, this is no hitch from Hovland. It’s a drill that he’s using to improve his accuracy.

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine wrote an interesting article about it. The point in which Hovland pauses at the top of his backswing is ideally where his backswing should stop, according to his coach. By pausing, Hovland says it puts his backswing in a position where he can feel a draw.

Hovland continues turning slightly after he pauses, but the results speak for themselves. The Norwegian finished T54 in his pro debut — a week after his T12 at the 2019 U.S. Open — ranking 8th in Driving Accuracy and 1st in SG: Tee-t0-Green.