The biggest surprise on U.S. Open Friday at Oakmont | Rogers Report

Hello friends, and happy Friday from the U.S. Open! I’ve had a lovely day here at Oakmont, and I want to give a shout out to the USGA for being No. 1 in terms of media-center food. They brought in Chick-fil-A for dinner last night and then had an ice-cream bar for a mid-afternoon snack today.

I went with one scoop of cookie dough and one scoop of birthday cake ice cream, which had sprinkles mixed in. Nothing makes me happier than having ice cream on the golf course, so this was huge for morale. Rumor has it that there will be Chipotle in the media center this evening, so despite this week’s lack of sleep beginning to catch up with me, I have no complaints.

A Viktor Hovland surprise

As I write this, Viktor Hovland is just one of five players under par here at Oakmont. While it’s not particularly surprising that he’s playing well, it’s a little surprising that he’s happy with how he’s playing. In fact, Hovland is actually having fun at Oakmont.

Here’s what he had to say about his swing on Friday:

“I’ve definitely felt better about it. But still haven’t been overly confident in my ball-striking up until recently. But last week we saw some really good progress, and earlier this week was very happy with some of the shots that I was hitting out there in the practice rounds. Super excited that I was able to take that out with me in the tournament … Yeah, definitely feel a lot better about my game. Some of the shots I’ve been hitting the last couple days, it’s been just fun. Even if I make a double on No. 2, it’s way easier to handle those moments because I feel like, okay, I can just go back to hitting good shots and I can make a few birdies coming in, versus before it didn’t feel good, so I had to get max out of my game. So then when I get a bad break, it frustrates me even more. Yeah, I’m super happy with where we’re going. We’re still not quite there, just day in, day out.”

I am pleasantly surprised to hear him say that things are going well, because that hasn’t always been the case in the past. Hovland tends to be a bit self-deprecating in his search for his golf swing. Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

After winning the 2020 Puerto Rico Open, Hovland referenced the triple-bogey he made during the final round with a perfectly relatable line.

Next up we have the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla, where Hovland admitted he almost didn’t play in the event.

Last August, Hovland shared his frustrations on not being able to trust his swing.

Fast forward to this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where Hovland didn’t hold back about the state of his game.

And finally, Hovland explained why he’s so hard on himself at the Valspar in March.

So let’s just say I’m used to hearing Hovland speak about his game in a negative manner. I don’t think he has a negative outlook on the game, I just think he’s brutally honest and 99 percent of the time, golf is a wildly frustrating game. So to hear him talk about his game with confidence today, at Oakmont of all places, was unexpected to say the least. It’s also worth pointing out that other players are very much not having too much fun at this week’s U.S. Open.

I always appreciate Hovland’s honesty, and I really appreciate the fact that he’s having fun this week. Here’s to a whole lot more of that this weekend