Viktor Hovland was in the driver’s seat during the third round of the BMW PGA Championship. Then, one swing dropped him on the leaderboard.
On Wentworth’s par-5 12th, the 27-year-old Swede sliced his drive en route to a double. Now, after 54 holes of the DP World Tour’s flagship event, Hovland sits solo fourth at 12 under par.
“Battling my golf swing all year, and kind of had to pay the price there at the end of the front nine, and particularly the back nine there,” Hovland said after a third-round 71. “[Twelfth] hole, making the double bogey there really stinks. That’s giving up three shots right there. That’s a little disappointing.”
Going into the final round, he’s one stroke back of his European Ryder Cup teammate, Tyrrell Hatton, who shot 64 on Saturday, while European vice captain Alex Noren of Sweden co-leads with France’s Adrien Saddier.
Saddier finished birdie-birdie-eagle to soar up the leaderboard.
“I hit a lot of greens,” said the 33-year-old, who won his maiden DPWT title at the Italian Open earlier this year, “and then so I’ve got a lot of birdie chance. Yeah, that’s a big strength in my game.”
Noren, who was sidelined for the first few months of 2025 after tearing his hamstring tendon, has made 18 bogeys and an eagle this week. But one swing sticks out more than the rest.
“I was a little bit angry after my kind of unforced bogey on 13,” said Noren, who claimed the 2017 BMW PGA with a final-round 62. “The middle of the fairway, in between clubs, and tried to hit a hard nine and just duffed it.”
Still, he and Saddier are in a prime position to claim the victory on Sunday. However, anything can happen in the final 18 holes.
“It’s one of those courses if you play well, you can make up a lot of birdies and make up a lot of ground,” Hovland said. “Seeing what Tyrrell did today, shoot a 64 and kind of come from nowhere into contention; and at the same time, if you play the ball a little bit; and there's some nerves in there and you hit it on the wrong side, you can shoot easily a couple shots over par.
“This is a super exciting course and you can’t take anything for granted.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton in Mix at BMW PGA Championship Entering Final Round.