Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland delight the crowds on moving day at the Earth Course
Europe Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland were drawn together for round three at the Earth Course. Both Fleetwood and Hovland found the fairway at the first hole then followed it up with opening birdies. The second is a par five and both found the green in two but Fleetwood was closer due to an exceptional shot. Fleetwood missed his eagle putt and both Europeans were two under after two holes. Fleetwood hit two great iron shots at the fifth and sixth hole to reach 13 under.
Fleetwood hit a fantastic second shot from 261 yards at the par five seventh and reached 14 under after a two putt. Hovland was very steady and also made a two putt for birdie at the par five to advance to 12 under. Fleetwood made a couple of great putts around the turn for par to keep the momentum in his favour. Hovland started the back nine in style as he went to 13 under after a short-range birdie putt. Fleetwood dropped a shot at the par four 12th after a three putt. Hovland yet again hit a stunning wedge shot as he got up and down for a par from 102 yards at the 12th hole.
The par at the 12th gave Hovland confidence as he stitched his tee shot at the 187 yard par three 13th. Fleetwood had 290 yards for his second shot at the par five 14th which he managed to find the green then drained a 60 foot putt for eagle. Hovland was just off the green in two but unfortunately was unsuccessful in a chieving a birdie. The 15th is a short par four and Hovland only had 54 yards for his second shot but the Norwegian was frustrated that he didn’t take advantage of either 14 or 15. Fleetwood hit a good iron shot at the 15th but missed his birdie putt.
Both players made the usual difficult 16th hole look easy as Hovland nearly put his second shot in the hole and Fleetwood rolled in a short-range putt for birdie. The 17th played 175 yards and Fleetwood dropped another shot due to his second tree putt on the back nine. Hovland managed to achieve a par at the 17th and it came down to the par five to see who would get into the final group with Matt Wallace. Hovland missed the fairway at the final hole to the right where as Fleetwood got a lucky bounce which ended up in the first cut. Hovland hit a good third shot from 117 yards to set up a birdie putt. Fleetwood escaped the water but duffed his chip shot.
Hovland missed his birdie putt and Fleetwood managed a two putt for par from the front of the green. Both players shot a six under round of 66. Both players will be disappointed that they didn’t achieve a birdie at the par five 18th hole. Both players have a great chance to win with one round to go at the Earth Course. It was great to watch two of the best Europeans play together in a competitive round at the Earth Course.