Viktor Hovland's Resurgence?

🗣️ Hello Friends,

It’s been a little bit since we last posted a newsletter. With some traveling last week, we are back this week with a new article.

I made a call to the bullpen to persuade my brother Justin to write his own full newsletter this week, who is the one that makes the engine run smoothly behind the scenes.

This week, Justin will talk about one of our favorite players in Viktor Hovland:

• Viktor Hovland’s early career

• Hovland’s big 2022-2023 year

• How Hovland made headlines with his comments to the media recently

Viktor Hovland’s big win and comments to the media

The tumultuous rise and stumble of Viktor Hovland prior to becoming a winner again on the PGA Tour.

Hailing from Oslo, Norway, Viktor Hovland arrived onto the scene while in college at Oklahoma State, blossoming into one of golf’s best prospects after winning the 2018 U.S. Amatuer.

Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff were heavily considered the “next three up” on the PGA Tour around 2019, and let’s just say it panned out for two of the three. 

He found early success on Tour, winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first win, making 17 of 20 cuts and posting three top 10 finishes in the 2019-20 season.

During the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, Hovland really made a name for himself, proving why he was considered one of the best prospects in golf. He won at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, made 22 of 24 cuts, finished 5th in the FedEx Cup and also represented his home country of Norway at the Summer Olympics.

Hovland won again at Mayakoba during the 2021-22 season, but did not replicate his immense success the previous season, as he finished 15th in the FedEx Cup at the end of the season. For Viktor, the 2022-23 season was one of the best seasons for a PGA Tour player in recent memory.

Going 23 for 23 on made cuts, Hovland finished the 2022-23 season as the FedEx Cup champion, winning a total of three tournaments and posting nine top 10’s. Hovland then went on to finish 3-1-1 at the 2023 Ryder Cup, including a 9 & 7 thumping with Ludvig Aberg over world No. 1 player Scottie Scheffler and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.

Things took a turn for the worst for Hovland, as he missed the cut in three of the four majors, and only played in one non-elevated event the entire season. This came after Hovland split with his swing coach Joe Mayo after the 2023 season. The two tried to mend fences and make it work again midway through the 2024 season, but eventually split again soon after.

Hovland seemed lost, and he really harped on it at his press conference before the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in January

Prior to the Valspar Championship, Hovland missed three consecutive cuts and has yet to post a top 20 this season, even with four of the five tournaments he competed in having a limited field. 

I believe it surprised many when Hovland committed to the Valspar, as he’s a low-volume player on Tour. Last season instead of trying to figure it out through tournaments, he wanted more time to practice and not be thrown into the fire with a lost swing.

No one truly expected Hovland to be in contention on Sunday afternoon. He was 80-1 to win the tournament, and surely that’s what Viktor Hovland just did. 

Hovland’s flat stick caught fire, as he was second in the field in strokes gained putting, just behind runner-up Justin Thomas. Hovland finished the job on Sunday, firing four birdies on holes 11-17 before just needing bogey on 18 to reclaim glory on the PGA Tour again.

After the win, Hovland admitted his swing is still not fully back yet.

He also stated that if you asked him before the tournament if he was going to win, he would have said no. However, he followed that by acknowledging he has to give himself more credit for how good of a golfer he is whether he has his best stuff or not.

Hovland showed maturity, honesty and transparency this week. It’s truly refreshing for a PGA Tour player to conduct interviews with no fluff, telling the audience exactly how they are feeling.

It’s amazing to see Viktor Hovland back in the winner’s circle, and he’s truly the epitome of a professional.