Hovland grabs share of Valspar lead

Viktor Hovland carded a two-under-par 69 on Saturday to grab ashare of the 54-hole lead at the Valspar Championship, where the Norwegian is gunning for his first US PGA Tour title since 2023.

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Hovland, who arrived at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, this week off of three straight missed cuts, says he’s still battling the inconsistency that has seen him make five coaching changes as he slumped from fourth in the world to 19th.

But he could see “a lot of good” after posting three birdies and a bogey to join Colombian Nico Echavarria and American Jacob Bridgeman atop the leaderboard on seven-under 206.

“It’s fun to be in contention, but it is a little bit more stressful when you don’t feel super comfortable over the ball,” Hovland said. “But, man, it’s fun to see some putts go in and still see the ball end up close to the hole and put some good scores up there.