– He doesn’t want to talk about it

Last year, Hovland was referred to as the world’s best golfer. That is why the surprise was great when the Norwegian had broken with successful coach Joe Mayo at the start of 2024.

– Everyone was shocked when he changed the coach as the best in the world. Viktor always strives for the perfect, but there is probably something behind it that we don’t know about – and he doesn’t want to talk about it, says Discovery commentator Per Haugsrud (59) to VG – even with a past as Norway’s best player.

– What do you mean by that?

– I can only speculate. But I can’t imagine that he changed coaches because he wanted to get better, because he was already the best.

– Hovland will not go into the details, NBC reporter Todd Lewis was also told after the news became known.

With Mayo out, Grant Waite was in as the new Hovland coach in January. After five lead-heavy PGA tournaments with positions of 22, 58, 19, 36 and 62, Hovland met at The Masters last month with old coach Dana Dahlquist. It got even worse.

Hovland missed The MasterscuteThe top 50 after two out of four rounds played were allowed to take part in the last half of the tournament. after going the first two rounds eight over par. Since then, no one has seen the Norwegian phenomenon in action.

– It has been difficult to see the way forward, what the answer is and what exactly I have to do. Now I feel I have decided what is right and what works. So I’ll just have to drive it and we’ll see how it goes. But it has been more difficult than desired, Hovland told Discovery before The Masters slump.

At the weekend, Hovland’s four-week training break is over. Then the 26-year-old returns to the PGA Tour in the prestigious Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina with just under 40 million in first prize.

– It will be very exciting. He cannot take any more tournament breaks now. If it “clicks”, he could suddenly have two fantastically good months ahead of him and be the best in the world again. But if he plays poorly again and becomes uncertain, it could be difficult going forward, says Haugsrud.

– What do you know about the period he has been away from competition?

– I don’t really know anything. He is not one to say much. But he is looking for a feeling, a security. With the naked eye, you cannot see that anything is wrong.

– But you see it in the statistics?

– Yes. It has been bad in all areas for him to be. I tend to say that he invented the ruler on the shots, because he hits so straight, but he hasn’t done that in 2024. He gets a shock when he lies in the “rough”, where others lie, because he always tends to hit that way straight. This makes him insecure, and he takes that with him in other parts of the game as well.

At the weekend, the majority of the best on the PGA Tour are there. The exceptions are international Scottie Scheffler (27), who has a heavily pregnant wife, and Swede Ludvig Åberg (24).

– If he feels good now, he will be back again. But if he becomes number 40-50 again, we won’t see the usual Hovland smile. That is what I want back again, and I always have faith in him, says Haugsrud.

For the time being, Hovland is still ranked number seven in the world, but the Norwegian could fall sharply on the list if he does not raise his game. Participation in the FedEx playoffs is already in jeopardy, where the top 30 at the end of the season get to fight for the title. Last year, Hovland won and secured NOK 192 million for the victory.

– There could be a real collapse in the ranking. His problem is that he is now number 100 in the FedEx rankings. He has to get into the top 75 just to join the playoff tournaments. So he has to “get in the ring” now. There is no muzzle factor in golf.