Luke Donald makes prediction about Viktor Hovland ahead of the Ryder Cup after looking at his stats recently

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In the days following the 2023 Ryder Cup, you would have been laughed at had you suggested that there was even a hint of Viktor Hovland being a doubt to make the next event at Bethpage.

For a period in 2023, Viktor Hovland was arguably the best player in the world. He won the Memorial in June, and followed that with two FedEx Cup playoff wins – including at the Tour Championship. And fortunately for Europe, his form continued into Marco Simone as Luke Donald‘s side won the Ryder Cup back comfortably.

Few would have imagined what would come next for the Norwegian.

Hovland’s form has taken a significant dip. He failed to win on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour in 2024. He also missed the cut in three of the four majors.

Luke Donald makes a prediction about Viktor Hovland ahead of the Ryder Cup

There were some encouraging signs on a couple of occasions. Hovland finished third at the PGA Championship having had a putt to tie Bryson DeChambeau for second at Valhalla. Meanwhile, he did finish tied for second at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

He is yet to crack the top 20 this season and missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational. Nevertheless, speaking to Golf Channel about staying in contact with the likes of Hovland and Jon Rahm, Donald insisted that he is not at all concerned about the 27-year-old.

“I’m very sensitive to know that everyone reacts differently. Some people like to know things, some people want to be left alone. And I’ve built up those relationships over the last three years with this captaincy so it’s understanding those personalities, how to react, how to converse with them and how to get them in the right spot. It takes up a lot of time where I’m trying to figure out the best way to get them in the right frame of mind,” he said.

“Jon, whenever I see Jon, I try and make an effort to go see him, if it’s at majors or when he is over here. I’m not seeing him as much. But I am communicating with him outside of that too. Viktor another one. I’m not really too worried about Viktor. He’s a stud, he’s going to start playing great. He’s not really that far off to be honest if you look at the stats.”

How Viktor Hovland’s stats are looking at the start of the PGA Tour season

Obviously, Donald – with the help of Edoardo Molinari – will have access to much more detailed statistics than the rest of us. And he will have a much better idea of how they translate to matchplay and playing at Bethpage.

But Hovland’s stats in the early part of the PGA Tour season have not been impressive. He is outside the top 100 in a number of strokes gained categories right now.

In truth, Europe are likely to need all of their big guns firing if they going to retain the trophy in September. Hovland has a long, long way to go, but there are likely to be plenty of people who believe that they have little chance of winning if he is not on the team – regardless of what his form looks like.