Hovland's driver drama: Can he overcome it at the US Open to win his first major?

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — When Viktor Hovland sliced his opening shot in the the third round of the U.S. Open all the way into the bushes, he had no good options.

He took a penalty stroke, dropped onto a muddy cart path and managed to hit through some of Oakmont's few remaining trees on his way to a bogey.

Hovland finished with an even-par 70 on Saturday and was three strokes behind leader Sam Burns heading into the final round. The 27-year-old Norwegian was a definite threat to win his first major title this week. The question is whether his driver would allow it.

“A little bitter about my driver. Just can't seem to figure it out,” Hovland said. “It's like a lingering problem all these years.”

Hovland's first shot of the day went so far right that it disappeared into some bushes at the very edge of the course.

“Aimed it left, and tried to hit a little squeeze cut out there,” Hovland said. “Just got super stuck on it, hit it off the heel as well, and it was an open club face. And then just, yeah, sayonara.”

Even after dropping, the former Oklahoma State star needed to hit between a couple trees. His shot clipped one of them slightly but still reached the green, and he was able to limit the damage.

After another bogey on No. 3, Hovland's 7-iron approach on the par-4 ninth took one hop and bounced off the flagstick — an example of what he is capable of from the fairway. He birdied that hole and No. 10, and after his tee shot went into the rough on 17, he hit a beautiful pitch over a couple bunkers and then made a 3-foot putt for birdie.

“I was quickly staring at bogey there if that second shot doesn't come out perfectly," he said.

But just when it seemed Hovland would finish on a great note, he ended the round like he started it — missing the fairway to the right off the tee. This time he found a bunker on No. 18 and bogeyed that hole to fall to 1 under for the tournament. He was in fourth place behind Burns, Adam Scott and J.J. Spaun.

“When you start to see the ball leak a little bit right, which has been my miss recently and came out today, then that’s when you start to guide it a little bit more,” he said. “Obviously, that leads to even worse shots. So it’s kind of a bad position to be in.”

Hovland was right back on the range after his round, trying to work out the kinks. He's doing enough other things well that even a little improvement with the driver could leave him in very good shape.

"I’m a few shots behind, but obviously I’ve got a chance. If you would have asked me start of the week if I had a chance to win on Sunday I would have been extremely happy with that, three shots behind," he said. “A lot of things can happen out here.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Viktor Hovland, of Norway, chips onto the 17th green during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Viktor Hovland, of Norway, lines up a putt on the second hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Viktor Hovland, of Norway, pumps his fist after making a putt on the 15th hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

eViktor Hovland, of Norway, tosses his club after making his approach to the 18th green during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Viktor Hovland, of Norway, celebrates after making a putt on the 15th hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York prison guard who failed to intervene as he watched an inmate being beaten to death should be convicted of manslaughter, a prosecutor told a jury Thursday in the final trial of correctional officers whose pummeling, recorded by body-cameras, provoked outrage.

“For seven minutes — seven gut-churning, nauseating, disgusting minutes — he stood in that room close enough to touch him and he did nothing,” special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick told jurors during closing arguments. The jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon.

Former corrections officer Michael Fisher, 55, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Robert Brooks, who was beaten by guards upon his arrival at Marcy Correctional Facility on the night of Dec. 9, 2024, his agony recorded silently on the guards' body cameras.

Fisher’s attorney, Scott Iseman, said his client entered the infirmary after the beating began and could not have known the extent of his injuries.

Fisher was among 10 guards indicted in February. Three more agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges in return for cooperating with prosecutors. Of the 10 officers indicted in February, six pleaded guilty to manslaughter or lesser charges. Four rejected plea deals. One was convicted of murder, and two were acquitted in the first trial last fall.

Fisher, standing alone, is the last of the guards to face a jury.

The trial closes a chapter in a high-profile case led to reforms in New York's prisons. But advocates say the prisons remain plagued by understaffing and other problems, especially since a wildcat strike by guards last year.

Officials took action amid outrage over the images of the guards beating the 43-year-old Black man in the prison's infirmary. Officers could be seen striking Brooks in the chest with a shoe, lifting him by the neck and dropping him.

Video shown to the jury during closing arguments Thursday indicates Fisher stood by the doorway and didn't intervene.

“Did Michael Fisher recklessly cause the death of Robert Brooks? Of course he did. Not by himself. He had plenty of other helpers,” said Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney.

Iseman asked jurors looking at the footage to consider what Fisher could have known at the time “without the benefit of 2020 hindsight.”

“Michael Fisher did not have a rewind button. He did not have the ability to enhance. He did not have the ability to pause. He did not have the ability to get a different perspective of what was happening in the room,” Iseman said.

Even before Brooks' death, critics claimed the prison system was beset by problems that included brutality, overworked staff and inconsistent services. By the time criminal indictments were unsealed in February, the system was reeling from an illegal three-week wildcat strike by corrections officers who were upset over working conditions. Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed National Guard troops to maintain operations. More than 2,000 guards were fired.

Prison deaths during the strike included Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at Mid-State Correctional Facility, which is across the road from the Marcy prison. 10 other guards were indicted in Nantwi's death in April, including two charged with murder.

There are still about 3,000 National Guard members serving the state prison system, according to state officials.

“The absence of staff in critical positions is affecting literally every aspect of prison operations. And I think the experience for incarcerated people is neglect,” Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, an independent monitoring group, said on the eve of Fisher's trial.

Hochul last month announced a broad reform agreement with lawmakers that includes a requirement that cameras be installed in all facilities and that video recordings related to deaths behind bars be promptly released to state investigators.

The state also lowered the hiring age for correction officers from 21 to 18 years of age.

FILE - This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows body camera footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File)