Viktor Hovland will be looking to continue his strong form at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow this week.
Hovland has been paired with American duo Bryson DeChambeau and Gary Woodland for rounds one and two at Quail Hollow.
The Norwegian finished one spot ahead of DeChambeau at the tournament in 2023, taking T2 alongside Scottie Scheffler.
Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship that year, with Hovland producing another strong finish in 2024.
He finished third at the iconic Valhalla, with DeChambeau finishing second as Xander Schauffele came out on top.
Viktor Hovland admits problem heading into the PGA Championship
But the seven-time PGA Tour winner isn’t exactly feeling at his best heading into another PGA Championship.
Asked how he’s feeling and which aspect he’s focusing on this week ahead of the tournament, Hovland 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.
| Rank | Player | Total | Distance rank | Accuracy rank |
| 1 | Rico Hoey | 85 | 72 | 13 |
| 2 | Kevin Yu | 86 | 42 | 44 |
| 3 | Taylor Pendrith | 90 | 29 | 61 |
| 4 | Kevin Roy | 92 | 53 | 39 |
| 5 | Steven Fisk | 97 | 24 | 73 |
| 24 | Viktor Hovland | 127 | 87 | 40 |
“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.”
How happy Viktor Hovland is with his game before the PGA Championship
Despite his issues, Hovland is among an exclusive group of players to have won on the PGA Tour this season.
He triumphed at the Valspar Championship, with the Norwegian then going on to finish T21 at The Masters right after.
Hovland is now taking on his 10th PGA Tour tournament of the season, with his win representing his only top 10 finish so far.
Asked if he is always working on changes to his game, either big or small, he revealed: “I mean, you’re always changing something, whether you’re doing it consciously or unconsciously.
“I think I’ve just been a little bit more vocal about it. So people ask me all the time, why are you always changing?
“You can ask any guy in the field here, ‘What are you working on this week?’ And they’re going to have an answer for you.
“Obviously I would like the changes to be less complicated, but when I’m not in the place where I need to be, you have to make changes to get to the place where you want to be, and then you change less things.
“I think I’ve been a little bit too flippant maybe in the past of exploring too many areas in trying to get better.
“But as I’ve alluded to in the past, the majority of times I’ve done that, I’ve actually gotten better. I am almost addicted in a way to try to get better because it’s worked out so well for me in my career.
“But in this place where I’m at, there’s a couple key pieces that are preventing me from playing my best golf.
“I’m not content with playing the way I am right now. So I have to make changes. That’s just the way it goes.”
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