Viktor Hovland is one of the players with quite the point to prove heading into 2025 with the Norwegian enduring a frustrating season this past year.
It appeared that 2024 was going to be the year of Viktor Hovland after his outstanding performance at the 2023 Ryder Cup. Of course, Hovland and Ludvig Aberg beat Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka by a record margin in Rome.
Unfortunately, he would only finish in the top 10 on two occasions in 2024. He would also miss the cut at three of the four majors. So many would have hoped to see Hovland hit the ground running in 2025.
Hovland is a doubt for The Sentry after breaking his toe. And it seems that he is dealing with more upheaval behind the scenes, with the 27-year-old once again splitting with coach Joe Mayo. The pair also went their separate ways ahead of 2024 before reuniting during the season.
Viktor Hovland explains reason for fresh split with Joe Mayo
And speaking to Norwegian Golf, Hovland has now explained why they have parted for a second time.
“I don’t work with Mayo anymore. We ended the partnership about a month ago,” he said.
“I don’t need to go into it in depth, but we had a bit of a disagreement about the way forward, what’s best for me.
“I feel that I’ve learned so much now and have so much expertise that I don’t need anyone to hold my hand anymore. It’s always good to have someone watching what I’m doing, checking out the steps I’m taking. So I send some videos to another coach, but he’s more of a consultant.”
How Hovland performed during first spell working alongside Mayo
There will be plenty of Hovland fans who are disappointed to hear that he is no longer working with Mayo, as they seemed to be getting some fantastic results up until the end of 2023.
Hovland finished inside the top 20 at all four majors during the year, while he also won the Memorial Tournament, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. It simply appeared to be a matter of time before he won his first major title.
Had golf fans been told that he would only make the weekend in one of the sport’s four biggest events in 2024, it is likely that they would not have believed it. So there have to be huge question marks over where Hovland goes from here. Many questioned Hovland’s decision to split with Mayo in the first place.
That point to prove in 2025 has arguably just got a little bigger for the European.
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