Despite feeling lost with his game before the 2024 PGA Championship, Viktor Hovland is contending for the trophy after two consecutive 5-under 66 rounds at Valhalla Golf Club.
He nearly withdrew from the event but has since positioned himself well, surprising even himself with his performance.
“I would’ve taken that immediately,” Hovland said. “I was almost considering pulling out of this event because I wasn’t playing good.”
Sobel, known for his tenacity, asked the follow-up question: How close was Hovland to not playing at all?
“Things didn’t feel very good and when they don’t feel good, it’s like what’s the point of playing? I’d rather go work on that,” he said.
Sobel pushed on, asking when he made the decision to play.
“Dammit, I shouldn’t have said that,” Hovland said. “It was just when you’re playing bad and thoughts are racing and that’s just what you’re thinking. Obviously, I didn’t make that decision. In the moment when you’re playing bad you just want to go home, you know?”
"I was almost considering pulling out of this event."
Good thing he didn't! After a 5-under 66 on Saturday, Viktor Hovland is just two shots back of the leaders at the PGA Championship entering the final round.@JasonSobelGolf | @PGAChampionship pic.twitter.com/TdDiAcGTKu
— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) May 19, 2024
In his quest for perfection and better ball-striking, Hovland split with swing coach Joe Mayo, experimenting with multiple coaches, leading to a period of confusion.
While focusing on his swing, his short game suffered, with his ranking plummeting to 186th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green.
Disheartened by his performance at the Masters, where he missed the cut with a second-round 81, he opted out of the RBC Heritage to concentrate on improving his game.
Hovland recently reconnected with Mayo, and their brief collaboration has already shown positive results.
Despite his previous struggles, Hovland did not disclose during his post-round press conference that he had contemplated skipping the PGA Championship, the second major of the season.
But when asked if he was surprised to be in contention, he said,
“I’m surprised in the sense that — just how far away I felt last week. But I’m not surprised in the way that I’m here because, like, I never doubted my abilities. It was just kind of my machinery was not working very well.
“But as soon as I get the machine kind of somewhere on track, I can play. Like there’s nothing wrong with me mentally or – like I never doubted I couldn’t play golf anymore. It’s just like the technique was not good enough to compete. But now we’re moving in the right direction.”
Better than that, at least in the opinion of Mayo, who posted on Instagram three words that said it all:
“I am pleased.”
Joe Mayo (Viktor Hovland’s swing coach who he reunited with last week) just posted this on Instagram with no caption. Lol. pic.twitter.com/1CmcapmhDS
— Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) May 18, 2024
