Viktor Hovland lost the U.S. Open but left with something he needed

Viktor Hovland entered U.S. Open Sunday at Oakmont as the man who seemed most likely to track down 54-hole leader Sam Burns and etch his name into major championship history.

The 27-year-old Norwegian has been on an endless quest for the right feel. He was at the top of the golf world when he won the FedEx Cup in 2023 and then tore his swing down in search of something better, something purer, something that felt more like Viktor Hovland. That search led him into the wilderness. Forever the tinkerer, Hovland kept changing things — from swing thoughts to coaches — as he tried to find something only he could discover.

That search led him to an unexpected win at the Valspar Championship, where he beat Justin Thomas despite hitting what he described as “disgusting shots.” But he was emerging from the wilderness. While his swing still needed molding, he had the confidence that he could play and contend while trying to harness that elusive feeling.

At Oakmont, Hovland’s voyage found him in contention entering the final round after gritty rounds of 71-68-70 to start. That Friday 68 saw Hovland get “U.S. Open’d” with a bad-luck double bogey on No. 2, but respond to steer it on the house and give himself a weekend chance at a first career major with a swing that still needs work.

Those first three rounds at Oakmont were a reminder for Viktor Hovland that while he’s seeking perfection in a game inherently filled with mistakes, his infinite search doesn’t doom his present goals.

“I know that even if it doesn’t feel great I can still get over the ball and get the ball out there somewhere,” Hovland said Saturday. “I would like to think my golf IQ is very high, so even if it doesn’t feel good and I’m not comfortable I can still play the game. I feel like the way that I became good at golf was having something suboptimal that I had to play with. When I was a kid, I played with like a big slice off the tee, and I couldn’t hit anything but a big slice, but I learned to score with that. So I think that kind of sticks with you for the rest of your career. Then, last few years, obviously my swing’s been good, I’ve been hitting a lot better shots, it’s easier to score, and now when I’m not swinging it as good I still have the capability to get the ball in the hole.”

At the U.S. Open, a sport that has become increasingly more optimized gets boiled down to its original goal. It’s not a test that asks you to be perfect in full flight, but one that demands you fight while revealing your imperfections.

Hovland navigated the demands well through 54 holes. But after Saturday’s even-par 70, Hovland, who sat three shots back of Burns, showed his pure golfing soul when asked about his desire to win the U.S. Open.

His quest seemingly will always be about more than what fills a trophy case.

“We would all like to win, that’s why we practice so hard,” Hovland said. “But there’s also like a deep passion in me that I want to hit the shots. Like I want to stand up on the tee and hit the shots that I’m envisioning. When the ball’s not doing that, it bothers me.”

So Hovland arrived Sunday at Oakmont as the only player in the top 10 on the leaderboard who was inside the top 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Even without the swing he desires, everything was right in front of Hovland on Sunday at soggy, iconic Oakmont. He had major championship contention experience from the 2022 Open Championship and 2023 PGA Championship, his iron play had been superb through three rounds, and he had already flashed the mental fortitude required to not melt in the U.S. Open cauldron.

But on a rainy, chaotic U.S. Open Sunday in which the conditions changed drastically throughout the round, Viktor Hovland was unable to pass the final Oakmont test.

He made back-to-back bogeys at No. 2 and No. 3. He got one back with a birdie at No. 5 before losing shots at No. 8 and No. 9. But even as Hovland fought his driver and missed the putts needed to conquer an exacting U.S. Open test, he still had a chance to hit the gas and steal the trophy as those ahead of him also stumbled in the wet and windy conditions.

Hovland made five straight pars to start the back nine before missing a 10-footer for par on No. 15 to fall two shots back of the leaders. Hovland didn’t give himself a good look for birdie on the par-3 16th and watched as his playing partner and eventual winner J.J. Spaun drove the par-4 17th green to set up an eagle look and a manageable two-putt birdie. Hovland’s drive, meanwhile, landed in the right rough. He got up-and-down for birdie, but Spaun still led by two with one hole to play.

With the western Pennsylvania rain still coming down, Hovland’s U.S. Open dreams were dashed even before Spaun canned a 64-foot birdie putt on 18 to put the exclamation point on his life-changing win.

Hovland tapped in on 18 to put the final touches on his third-place finish and then turned to Spaun and smiled.

“That was impressive dude, congrats,” Hovland said.

As Spaun prepared to have his name carved onto the U.S. Open trophy, Hovland processed a week that could’ve been more but still gave him what he needed.

“I’ve been tearing myself down a little too much,” Hovland said Sunday. “Even though I do know I need to work on some stuff and get back to where I used to be in a way mechanically, but in the interim, I can still perform at a really high level, and there’s a lot of good stuff. Just got to take that with me and be a little bit kinder to myself.”

And with that, Viktor Hovland exited to continue his search.