Viktor Hovland has just been on the receiving end of some really harsh criticism from a PGA Tour winner.
It wasn’t too long ago when Hovland was one of the most dominant players on the PGA Tour.
He won the FedEx Cup in 2023, but as so many have done before him, he tried to rebuild his swing in order to reach another level.
And just like those before him, Martin Kaymer to name one, his game regressed badly as a result of trying to change things.
Back at The Masters in April, Hovland rated his swing at around a 6/10.
The Norwegian is constantly tinkering with his swing it seems, and his win at the Valspar Championship earlier this season was somewhat of an anomaly.
And he has been closer to the cut line than the top 10 for the most part this season.
Arron Oberholser says what makes him mad about Viktor Hovland
2006 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am winner Oberholser is never shy when it comes to speaking his mind.
And this time, Hovland was the target of the former PGA Tour pro’s criticism.
Oberholser was speaking on Golf Channel’s PGA Championship preview, and he shared why Hovland makes him so angry.
“He said, I love the guy and I think what he does for the game and who he is, is fun. But I would have done something else with my life if I thought like that on the golf course, so he is very unique that way.
Listen, he is a better player than I was, there is no doubt, I am going to say that. But growing up playing the game, you were taught to score. You are not going to have your best stuff all the time. You have got to figure it out.
“Yet when he does not have his best stuff he’s like ah. I am going to go home and work on it. You could be at home for a month! He could be at home for two months, if he doesn’t have his best stuff. Yet he has proven to himself, he did not have his best stuff at Valspar and he wins the golf tournament. He almost withdrew from the PGA Championship last year, he did not have his best stuff, he finished third and almost won!
“What drives me nuts about this talent, as talented as he is, is that he does not trust himself when he doesn’t have his best stuff. He can still do it!
“I want so badly to shake him and go Viktor, you are an amazing talent, you can do this. You can win golf tournaments and win the biggest tournaments without your best stuff.
“It hasn’t yet and I hope it never does, but I worry about it paralysing him at some point.”
Oberholser is spot on here. Hovland had the world at his feet two years ago, and had he stuck to his guns, he could well be a major champion by now.
Hovland admitted he had a big problem before PGA Championship started
The Norwegian addressed the media before the start of this week’s PGA Championship.
And Hovland opened up on how little he trusts his driver right now.
He said, “Yeah, this week is a big driving week.
“The course is so long. Fairways are wet. You’re going to have to drive it long and straight, and driving is usually the best part of my game. But recently, it’s been tough for me.
“You know, I try to go back to my old reliant fade off the tee, and when I do that because of just how the club is moving, it’s just not allowing me to do that.
“And I’m hitting a lot of double-crosses, missing a lot to the left, which for me, I can kind of deal with an over-cut.
“But when the ball is drawing to the left, and sometimes when it’s not doing that, it’s starting right and going right, it’s a tough place for me to be.
“I’ve just got to get to the bottom of that, and if I can get the ball consistently in the fairway off the tee, even though I don’t feel amazing, my iron play has been pretty solid this year. So I can still get the ball in the hole.”
As Oberholser wisely suggested, Hovland needs to find a way of competing when he’s not on his ‘A’ game.
If he doesn’t, the rest of his career will feel like a huge struggle for him.
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