Viktor Hovland opens up about the ‘poor’ decision he’s made and explains what people have got wrong about him

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Viktor Hovland abandoning what had worked so well in 2023 was one of the more peculiar decisions of the past twelve months.

Hovland reunited with Joseph Mayo before the PGA Championship and eventually finished in outright third, three shots back of Xander Schauffele. Before the event at Valhalla, the Norwegian had struggled for form after opting to take his swing in a different direction. Getting back to basics and what had worked so well in 2023 was clearly needed.

Many assumed Hovland would stick with Mayo heading into the 2025 season.

However, Hovland is now working with a consultant after ending his partnership with his former coach one month before the season opener at The Sentry.

Does Viktor Hovland regret any decisions he made in 2024?

Speaking during his press duties on Wednesday, Hovland discussed his decision-making in 2024 and what he was trying to accomplish.

The Norwegian was asked: “Looking back, do you feel you’ve made some decisions that maybe you regret?”

“I mean, you could say that. I think a lot of people have it maybe misconstrued a little bit that I made a conscious decision to go down this rabbit hole,” Hovland replied.

“I think it’s just your golf swing is an ever-evolving organism, and every week you’re out here playing, you have intentions and feels that would seem relatively innocuous. But you keep those intentions and feels in there, and then it might morph into something else. I just didn’t address it.

“You know, just to put it simply, I added a lot of draw pieces in my golf swing because I’d always been a cutter, and I wanted to see the ball not cut as much. And then you add more draw pieces in there, and then suddenly, I get sick and tired of it missing left, and now I’ll want to cut it, and that compensation was not good for my swing. It’s just a process of, you know, s…. happens. Like I didn’t go down there and say, no, this is better. I made a poor decision. That’s the game of golf for you. It’s hard to play golf 20 years great.”

• READ MORE: Tiger Woods’ former coach concerned about Viktor Hovland after watching him hit his driver at The Sentry

Viktor Hovland takes risk after changing swing coach

Hovland’s decision to change coach once more is undoubtedly a risk. The 27-year-old needs clarity in what he’s trying to achieve, whether that’s looking to play a consistent cut or implement a draw swing into his technique.

So, are the 2023 FedEx Cup champion’s tweaks working?

In his only PGA Tour outing thus far at Kapalua, Hovland finished well out of contention at 15 under, twenty shots back of eventual winner Hideki Matsuyama.

Statistically, Hovland gained 0.9 strokes off the tee, lost 1.022 with his approach shots and also lost 1.25 strokes around the greens; clearly, his swing changes are still taking time to settle in.

Hovland will hope to see improvement at this week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic. A world-class field has descended on the UAE, including Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.