HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

January 24, 2026

Viktor Hovland

Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. 65, try and talk us through that round.

VIKTOR HOVLAND: It was very nice and steady today. Hit a lot of fairways. Was able to give myself some decent looks. Front nine was a lot of just hitting it to 40, 50 feet and try to 2-putt, and then on the back nine, I started getting a bit more going, and made a lot more putts today, thanks to Shay, he was reading some of the -- or all the shorter putts with me so that really helped.

Q. I know you've had a few swing changes recently. How happy are you that they are more integrated into your game?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I know a played a wonderful round of golf today. Certainly no complaints about a bogey-free 65 out here. This place is no joke.

Still doesn't feel like I can stand on the tee and kind of swing for the fences, and swing loosely. It's all very contrived and manufactured, and it happened to go straight today. If I get off the tee and in a decent position, I can really do some damage.

But I really would like to be able to stand on the tee box and swing hard and know that the ball is going to go fairly straight.

Q. Your name is already etched in the trophy here from 2022. You were six back on that final day back then. I'm not sure you're going to be that far back. How much will you draw on those memories from 2022?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: I think the most important thing with that year is that it's not over until it's over. Because this golf course, if you're a little bit off, you can easily shoot 2-, 3-, 4-over, and if you get it going, you can shoot 6-, 7-, 8-under par.

So there's massive swings out here, and so definitely taking some -- yeah, just remembering about that year. It's not over, so hopefully we get a nice round tomorrow.