Blunt Hovland talks down early promise at Wentworth while McIlroy struggles
It is difficult to square Viktor Hovland’s excellent position on the Wentworth leaderboard with the Norwegian’s blunt assessment of his game.The 27-year-old claimed he hit certain shots on the West Course on Friday that “hurt my soul”.Hovland has been in a state of technical flux all year, with his driving a particular cause for concern.He is perfectly candid about that, despite rounds of 67 and 66 at this PGA Championship.Hovland’s next start will come as part of team Europe in the Ryder Cup.
“It’s making the game a bit more stressful than it should be,” Hovland said.“It’s just frustrating as a golfer when this is my game.I step up and I have an intention of wanting to start the ball a certain height and start it left of the target and curve it, and then the ball starts high and right, complete opposite of what I’m trying to do.That’s just frustrating.But I know how to play.
So I’m doing the best I can,“I shot 80 at the Players earlier this year and I won the next week,I would rather not play the game of golf that way because that is not how I used to do it,Obviously I like to focus on what I need to work on, but at the same time I need to be proud of myself that I’m still able to come around here and compete after two rounds when it doesn’t feel very good,“I’m super happy to be where I’m at and scoring-wise, it’s incredible to be honest.
I really am struggling off the tee and I’m just trying to do whatever I can just to put it in the fairway,Trying not to hit it off line and in the trees,But I do want to play the game a little bit more stress-free,”Hovland will begin day three a shot behind Hideki Matsuyama after the Japanese’s 64,Justin Rose and Ludvig Åberg are alongside Hovland on 11 under.
Hovland was far more upbeat on Europe’s chances at Bethpage as they seek a rare win on American soil.Hovland was a star for Europe in Rome two years ago, claiming three and a half points.“I think the record speaks for itself,” Hovland said.“All the guys have had great years.I think what’s really cool is that we have 11 out of the 12 same guys [from the last Ryder Cup] and we have the same captain.
As a team, we’re a known commodity.We know that this is successful.“We don’t have to go to Bethpage and wonder if this is going to work versus maybe the American side, you know, there’s a lot of new guys and new captain.They maybe have some more insecurities, maybe.I think a strength that we have is we know our squad well and we know that it works.
”Rory McIlroy’s turbulent day saw the Masters champion flirt with the cut line after dropping three shots in his opening five holes.McIlroy responded with five birdies but produced a painful double bogey at the last.This all added up to a level par 72, which leaves McIlroy eight shy of Hovland.Shane Lowry’s aggregate is the same as McIlroy’s at halfway after a 74.Jon Rahm is four under with Robert MacIntyre at minus two.
More ominous in European Ryder Cup context were the struggles of Rasmus Højgaard.The Dane, who qualified for Luke Donald’s team automatically, exited Surrey at five over par.Marcel Siem suffered the embarrassment of disqualification after it emerged he played the wrong ball on the closing hole of his first round.
Stephen Colbert on Charlie Kirk shooting: ‘Political violence only leads to more political violence’
Late-night hosts respond to the shooting of Charlie Kirk and assess Donald Trump’s denials of a sexually suggestive birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein from 2003.Stephen Colbert opened his show on Wednesday with an acknowledgement of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the rightwing activist and Trump adviser who was shot and killed at age 31 during an event in Utah on Wednesday afternoon. “Our condolences go out to his family, and all of his loved ones,” said Colbert.“I’m old enough to personally remember the political violence of the 1960s,” the Late Show host added. “And I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any of our political differences
Jerry Seinfeld compares Free Palestine movement to Ku Klux Klan
Jerry Seinfeld denounced the Free Palestine movement as antisemitic and likened its rhetoric to that of the Ku Klux Klan during a surprise appearance at Duke University.“Free Palestine is, to me, just … you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. Just say you don’t like Jews,” the 71-year-old comedian said on stage, according to the Duke University Chronicle.“By saying ‘Free Palestine’, you’re not admitting what you really think,” he continued. “So it’s actually – compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here, because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews
Stephen Colbert on Trump’s Epstein letter: ‘A Picasso of pervitude’
Late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump’s birthday drawing for Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, and his visit on Monday to the Museum of the Bible.Stephen Colbert has kept close tabs on the US president’s never-ending Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and on Tuesday, he noted: “The story of his disturbing friendship with Jeffrey Epstein keeps getting more.”Earlier this summer, the Wall Street Journal reported that back in 2003, Trump provided a lewd letter and cartoon to a book celebrating Epstein’s birthday – a “Picasso of pervitude”, as the Late Show host put it. The Journal reported that the note was framed by a doodle of a naked woman, and featured Trump’s squiggly signature “below her waist, mimicking pubic hair”.The note read, in part: “Happy birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret
Jon Stewart on Donald Trump: ‘Something is up with his health’
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Before Knives Out, there was Brick: Rian Johnson’s alluring, hard-boiled debut
Before Benoit Blanc, there was Brendan Frye.At first glance, the teenaged gumshoe at the heart of Brick doesn’t share much with the gentleman sleuth from Knives Out, Glass Onion and the upcoming Wake Up Dead Man. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) styles himself as a lost Agatha Christie character, while Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a jaded teen who spits Dashiell Hammett dialogue before starting fights he can’t win.But dig deeper and you’ll find two detectives caught in cases that contort around their own genre conventions. Both, of course, are creations of Rian Johnson – the writer/director who induces either delight or unspeakable rage, depending on what type of nerd you are
Billy Porter recovering from ‘serious case of sepsis’ as Broadway show closes early
Billy Porter is “recovering from a serious case of sepsis”, forcing the early closure of Broadway’s revival of Cabaret in which he played a leading role.The show’s producers announced on Sunday that Porter “is recovering from a serious case of sepsis” that will prevent him from returning to the stage.“His doctors are confident that he will make a full recovery,” they added, “but have advised him to maintain a restful schedule these next couple of weeks”.Porter has yet to issue a statement on his health.The 55-year-old actor had been playing the role of Emcee since July, when he and Marisha Wallace took over from Orville Peck and Eva Noblezada as Emcee and Sally Bowles respectively
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