Fore!
Most on the course at Royal Liverpool have the decency to give such a warning when a shot is heading toward others. But one bird over Viktor Hovland had no such courtesy, and gave no warning.
As Hovland prepared for his shot on the par-5 15th hole, a bird sunk a hole-in-one on Hovland's arm.
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"I just got s—t on," Hovland said, as picked up by the hot mic on the broadcast.
"I just got s**t on!" 😂
— FreeBets.com (@FreeBetsDotCom) July 20, 2023
Viktor Hovland was blessed with luck from above at The Open 🕊️💩pic.twitter.com/Y5doyaRWH6
The bird had an expert approach on Hovland. Video of the incident showed the quick flyby as the bird dropped its shot and hastily flew away up the course. After receiving his gift from above, Hovland reached the green in two more shots to set himself up for a 5-foot put birdie attempt.
But this birdie attempt missed, and Hovland had to settle for par.
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It was overall a solid opening round for Hovland: Though he had two bogeys, he also had three birdies (plus, well, that one) to finish at 1 under and tied for 19th overall.
Hovland finished tied for fourth in last year's Open Championship as he put together what was, at the time, his best finish in a major (he has since topped that by finishing tied for second in the 2023 PGA Championship).
It's said to be good luck to be pooped on by a bird. Hovland likely will hope he gets some luck out of the incident to go along with his spoiled sleeve.