Viktor Hovland is very much still battling with some golfing demons it seems and after a shocking opening round of five over at the Arnold Palmer, he’s been taking things to the extreme it seems to improve.
Hovland carded a poor plus five to put him down the leaderboard but still very much within a chance of making the cut as a number of players struggled.
Indeed, Cam Young propped the field up with a woeful +12, while the invited Rafael Campos was down at +11, with a host of big names on +9 as well.
Still, for Hovland, it’s simply not good enough for a player who at his best is one of the very best in the world and at his worst, looks like he could shoot any score.
And it seems that for Hovland, the only way to fix things is to put the work in.
Viktor Hovland practices late into the evening as putting woes continue at the Arnold Palmer
It’s quite remarkable really that Viktor Hovland has gone from contending so often and being a key man in the Ryder Cup squads to being a player who looks so off it.
However, he does seem to be putting the work in and golf journalist Espen Blaker spotted Hovland out practicing into the evening at Bay Hill.
Indeed, it seems that Hovland was the last one out there, as he looked to overcome another woeful round of putting.
Why Viktor Hovland thinks he currently ‘sucks’ at golf
For a pro golfer to lament their own golf game, it must mean there’s plenty in their head at the moment to think about.
All players go through stages of searching for new things in their game but it seems like Hovland has been struggling for some time.
Indeed, Hovland admitted after Pebble Beach last month that his game was in a bad place right now.
“It’s not very good,” said Hovland. “Yeah, it’s been frustrating. I do feel like I’m making headway and I’m constantly trying to put the piece of the puzzle together.
“Even if I’m not seeing results from day to day, which is extremely frustrating, I do feel like I’m learning more.
“Even if kind of that domino doesn’t start to fall today or tomorrow or the next day, I’m hoping the cumulative effect of that knowledge and experience, eventually I’ll get over that hump and we’ll turn things around. But I know there’s a lot of good golf in me that will be there in the future and that I’ve played in the past. Things will turn around soon. In my opinion I suck at it right now, but that’s all relative.”
With a big Ryder Cup year in 2025, the Norwegian needs to find some form to keep his spot in Luke Donald’s team.
With so many Europeans playing well, he could very much end up being one of the players who is cast aside from the final 12.
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