It's a bit blustery this week at Pebble Beach Golf Links and throughout the Monterey peninsula for the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The conditions don't seem to be bothering Viktor Hovland, who entered the third round just three shots off the lead of Kurt Kitayama with his Saturday round coming up at Pebble Beach Golf Links -- a course that has been statistically easier than the others so far this week.
A reporter covering the tournament figured Hovland's Norwegian heritage and upbringing might have something to do with why he is handling the cold and windy conditions as well as he is. Hovland said he actually had recent experience playing in the cold, but it was at his collegiate home at Oklahoma State University and not in Scandinavia.
"I spent the last two weeks in Oklahoma and we had some really cold weather. I mean, we were playing golf in 30-degree weather. It was windy," he said Friday. "So you got to put on a bunch of layers. If you can hit it well with a bunch of layers on and know where the ball's going, I think that's good practice for when you play in tournaments when you get similar conditions."
Half the battle in playing in rough and cold weather is swinging with freedom while dealing with bulkier clothing from wearing multiple layers. Then there's that whole fight to control the ball in wind and through air temperatures that make the ball fly shorter than in nicer, warmer weather.
As for the Norwegian connection, Hovland didn't really buy into that hypothesis so much.
"But the Norwegian tie, like when it gets really cold we don't even play. We just sit inside," he said, drawing laughs. "So that's a little bit different. But it helps to hit the ball well and that's the number one thing."
