Kristoffer Reitan shot four under par in the opening round of the PGA tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and is tied for third place, according to multiple reports. He is three shots behind Rory McIlroy, who leads the tournament, major media reports indicate. According to NRK, Marius Thorp described Reitan's play as absolutely fantastic golf, noting his swings, confidence around the green, and putting.
Reitan is making his debut at the US Masters this week, major media reports. In his second round, he opened strongly with three under par after five holes, multiple reports indicate. He had birdies on holes 2, 3, 10, and 11 in a bogey-free round, according to multiple reports. However, he hit the pin on the 16th hole with his shot, but the ball bounced out and he had to settle for par, major media reports. He is four shots behind leader Austin Smotherman, who has only played three holes in the second round, multiple reports indicate.
It's absolutely raw to watch!
Viktor Hovland is the best-placed Norwegian player in the PGA tournament in Florida after the first round, according to multiple reports. He shot one under par in the first round, tying for 37th place, and is six shots behind leader Im Sung-jae after the first round, multiple reports indicate. In his second round, Hovland is currently three over par after eleven holes, major media reports. He needs to make the cut, which appears to be at four over par, major media reports. According to NRK Sport, Viktor Hovland described having three Norwegians playing at the highest level as incredibly cool.
Kristoffer Ventura got into the tournament from the reserve list earlier in the week, multiple reports indicate. He finished the first round at par, tying for 47th place, according to multiple reports. In his second round, Ventura shot one over par and is one over par total, currently outside the cut line at par, multiple reports indicate. According to Datagolf, there is currently a 32 percent chance that Kristoffer Ventura makes the cut, multiple reports indicate.
It's completely wild what he's doing.
In other tournament action, Tyrrell Hatton shot six under par on Friday, which is the best round so far, major media reports. Austin Smotherman shot a 62 (nine under par) in the first round, multiple reports indicate. Nico Echavarria is one shot behind Austin Smotherman after the first round, according to multiple reports. At the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill, Florida, Ludvig Åberg is six under par after the first round and tied for second place, major media reports. Daniel Berger leads after the first round at nine under par, and Alex Norén shot par in the first round and is tied for 33rd place, major media reports.
This tournament is the first ever on the PGA Tour with three Norwegians starting, multiple reports indicate. There are 123 participants in the tournament, according to multiple reports. The tournament prize pool is 20 million dollars, with the winner taking four million dollars, major media reports. If Kristoffer Reitan wins, he will secure around 40 million Norwegian kroner, major media reports. According to NRK, Per Haugsrud described Reitan's mental resilience after a tough first round, saying he has become a beast.
He plays absolutely fantastic golf: swings so nicely and freely, confidence around the green and gets the putter going too.
In unrelated sports news, Nicolai Budkov Kjær lost to Matej Dodig in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the challenger tournament in Lugano, multiple reports indicate.
It's insane. He really manages to focus on what he can control, his own game, and embraces the opportunity. That's class.
After he messed up three shots yesterday, he goes out today and just forgets it. That says something about the mental. He has become a beast.
It's damn cool. I feel like you almost take it for granted, which is a bit crazy to say, because it wasn't long ago we had no players here. We don't have the biggest golf history in Norway, so to have three playing at the highest level is incredibly cool.