Viktor Hovland has a warning for every golfer playing in the Memorial after noticing big change to the course during practice round

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Viktor Hovland won the Memorial Tournament in 2023, and he will be looking for another big victory at Muirfield Village this week.

Hovland has experienced a really tricky last 18 months or so on the PGA Tour.

The man from Norway won the FedEx Cup in 2023, before deciding to embark on a big swing change.

It seemed crazy at the time, and it has proven to be exactly that, despite the fact that he won the Valspar Championship somewhat out of the blue in March.

Back at The Masters in April, Hovland rated his swing at around a 6/10. He has now dropped down to 13th in the Official Golf World Rankings.

Hovland has been accused of tinkering too much with his swing and there is a lot of truth to that.

The 27-year-old just needs to go back to basics. He has won seven PGA Tour events already, so he clearly has the talent and ability needed to succeed at the very highest level of the game.

So can he turn it around and rediscover his best form at Muirfield Village and win the Memorial Tournament this week?

Viktor Hovland warns every golfer playing in the Memorial Tournament

Jack Nicklaus designed Muirfield Village, and the course opened for use way back in 1974.

Since then, it has become widely regarded as one of the toughest golf courses on the PGA Tour, if not the toughest.

In three of the last five years, the winning score has been less than 10-under-par.

Hovland won the event on seven-under-par back in 2023, and a similar score will probably stand a very good chance of winning this week as well.

The seven-time PGA Tour winner addressed the media on Tuesday ahead of the start of the tournament at ‘Jack’s Place’.

And he responded when asked to share his initial thoughts on the shape and condition of Muirfield Village this week.

He said: “Yeah, it’s really cool. I’ve played here a few times now and every time I was looking forward to trying to conquer the golf course because it’s so hard, and up until 2023 I felt like I had played a lot of good golf but just didn’t quite get the finishes that I wanted. So it was really nice to finally get a win there in 2023. First win in the United States, and it was kind of the first win on a really big-boy golf course and a great field. So that was a big week for me.

“I enjoy the challenge, but that’s more so like after the round. During the round it’s just so stressful, especially when it’s blowing. I played 18 holes yesterday and it was kind of a weird wind, a lot of crosswinds, and on those tee shots it gets very difficult to hold the fairways. The rough is probably as thick as I’ve ever seen it, so if you’re not good off the tee, you’re just going to be grinding for pars all day. Yeah, it’s just a really tough golf course.“

Judging by those comments, the players will need to drive the ball very well indeed this week, if they are to win at Muirfield Village.

Viktor Hovland 2023 vs 2025 stats comparison

Hovland is an absolute shadow of his former self right now.

He has fallen a long way behind the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

It’s easy to see why he has experienced such a downturn in form over the past 18 months.

It’s clear to see from those numbers that Hovland’s main issues right now are his driving, putting and chipping.

If he can improve upon those key areas, he should return back to the top of the game in no time.

That will obviously be easier said than done though.

Hovland has the talent and the work ethic needed but with him, it does seem like he suffers from paralysis from analysis at times.

Hopefully he figures all of that out sooner rather than later.