Palm Harbor, Fla. – After winning his first PGA Tour Championship in 18 months, there was Viktor Hovland. After returning from three shots with five, beating the top 10 players in the Valspar Championship world.
If there was a moment to declare yourself, say all the swing corrections and coaching changes he let himself pass, as the 2023 Ryder Cup is here with the trophy next to him.
But it was clear that Hovland was happy as the 27-year-old Norwegian flashed that simple smile.
“Yeah, that's not great yet,” Hofland said. “…The club isn't in the best place to get off, and it wasn't before. So, the club is somewhere else so I can't rely on the old feeling anymore and I have to change the release pattern and do the job.”
Okay, well, that worked. It's the result of the process, right? Hovland played four consecutive rounds under PAR on the Copperhead course. This includes Sunday 67 with birdies in two difficult holes that edge Justin Thomas in Stroke. No, not that much.
“I think it's something we're extremely proud to be able to play at a PGA Tour event on one of the most difficult golf courses that we play all year round and still aren't my best. But at the same time, this game is much more stressful than I think.”
Viktor Hovland, right, leaving the 18th tee along with Caddy Shay Knight. (Douglas P. Deferis/Getty Images)
This is who Viktor Hovland is and why he believes he can go from relatively minor golf countries like Norway to the Oklahoma and PGA Tour and be as successful as he is. Sunday was his seventh PGA Tour victory, including a tour championship, and he finished three top five in the majors in the past three years.
Good things aren't enough. It's not enough to just cheat on someone who's great. He is striving for something here, and why is that the problem?
“I think it's a bit odd that we're professional athletes and people who want to improve are looking a bit. That's what we're doing, Hofland said.
There's something to be praised there. The less-than-secret truth about the PGA Tour is that money is good enough, so you don't have to win to set up yourself and your family well. And for years, tours have been operating in a way that if you hold a card for several years it's hard to lose it, perpetuating enough cycles to keep your check. The good one is actually the great enemy. Professional male golf is no different from other industries like that.
No one could convince Hofland to join the ambiguous middle, even his well-meaning mother. “It never comforts me,” he said.
This was Tournament Week for Hovland, which had not been cut back in 2025 and was kicked out of the athletes' championship in the first round of 80. While committing to Valspar, he spent Monday working with Swing Coach Grant Waite to find something about Swing Feel. Hovland thought he was driving to Tampa Bay on Tuesday and thought he was going to have a late practice round. Only after these nine holes he made the final decision to play in the tournament, but he rarely expected to compete.
Then the first rounds 70 and 67 were shot the next day, he shot one shot from the lead. “I can't control what I'm doing,” Hofland said that day. Hofland, who played in the final group on Saturday, shot a 69 and finished the day with a three-way tie for the lead. “It feels like they're still saving a lot of shots, but they're pretty straightened, so it's fine,” Hofland said.
Viktor Hovland leaned over the iron during the Valspar Championship. (Brennan Asprene/Getty Images)
At that time, Sunday was a stress test. Will Hovland manage his game, get involved in the feel of that swing and find a way to win? The answer was proof of his work. Not only did Hovland avoid his biggest problem now, but also “Big Push Fade” – No. 16, with Water running through the fairway length, he also hit a tournament shot, hitting an approach ranging from 187 yards to under 6 feet. There was a birdie putt, the other one was No. 17, and Hofland had two shots of cushions.
Currently, Waite will start again with Waite. Waite brought him back this month as Hovland was fired for hire in the last 18 months, and Waite is the information man and Hovland wants all the information. All data. Don't hide it from the problem. Leaning over it, I come back from the other side. Hopefully.
Win this period on the PGA Tour, but it's very long until the questions inevitably come to the Master. With 18 days until the first round, Hofland believes in what he did to win this week: tame tight fairways with accurate iron shots and good week putts – the same effect is not in Augusta National, a totally different test of golf. Hofland was scattered around some positive self-talk, and that's his reality that he sees it.
“I still need to be honest, so I could attack and improve the issues I had, but at the same time I was able to give myself some credit.
So will Viktor Hovland be back? yes. Don't ask him to confirm it.
(Photo above: Brennan Asprene/Getty Images)
