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The curious case of Viktor Hovland in 2024 continues.
Seven months in the past, he was on high of {the golfing} world. He received the FedEx Cup and the $18 million prize. He was sturdy within the European Ryder Cup victory in Rome.
Now, he has withdrawn from subsequent week’s RBC Heritage, the following signature occasion on the PGA Tour’s schedule. This comes on the heels of taking pictures 81 on Friday and lacking the reduce on the 2024 Masters at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership.
How unstable the sport will be.
Hovland has made the reduce in all 5 of his begins on Tour this yr till Friday, when he began 7 over by means of 5 holes at Augusta Nationwide. It acquired worse, as he missed a par putt on the par-5 fifteenth gap and tried to knock in a putt from a pair inches outdoors the outlet and missed in frustration.
Viktor, buddy pic.twitter.com/7JFBntgH5z
— Schu (@tschu_22) April 12, 2024
Final yr, Hovland positioned T-4 at Augusta Nationwide and shot 1-under 71 within the opening spherical. However a 7-over 43 on the entrance 9 doomed Hovland on a tough day Friday.
Again in March, Hovland spoke on the Arnold Palmer Invitational and mentioned he would moderately apply than attempt to work by means of one thing in the course of a event. Maybe that’s one motive for the World No. 6’s withdrawal.
“It’s been a bit of bit irritating up to now this yr,” Hovland mentioned. “Really feel like my swing hasn’t been fairly nearly as good because it has been in earlier years, so it’s been, felt like I’ve tried to prioritize simply being residence and training, placing quite a lot of work in. Don’t actually need to combat by means of one thing whereas taking part in, it’s simply not that enjoyable, and I don’t see the purpose of it. Simply been prioritizing time at residence and, yeah, simply caring for the basics.”
Hovland switches instructors after his stellar run final yr partially as a result of he mentioned even along with his nice golf final yr, he felt as if he wasn’t hitting the photographs precisely how he wished to. Certain, there have been huge enhancements in his brief sport and for a stretch late final summer season, he was the perfect participant on the earth.
However he made an opportunity, beginning to work with former Tour professional Grant Waite.
Earlier this week, Hovland was working with Dana Dahlquist, because the seek for perfection continues.
“I’m nonetheless type of searching for some opinions on the market, however I really feel like I’m on a very good monitor proper now and we’ll see the place that takes us,” Hovland mentioned Tuesday. “However, yeah, I imply, it’s a type of issues. Like, I used to be taking part in nice golf final yr, but it surely’s not like I’m making an attempt to vary my golf swing. It’s simply generally the sport of golf you attempt to do the identical daily, however then issues aren’t the identical daily once you go to the golf course. I took an enormous break after final yr and once I got here again, issues had been a bit of bit totally different and I needed to type of discover my method again to the place I feel I’m going to play my greatest golf.
“And even on the finish of the final yr I nonetheless felt like, yeah, I used to be taking part in nice, however I acquired so much out of my sport and it didn’t essentially really feel sustainable, but it surely’s not like I consciously went in and mentioned, ‘hey, we’re going to vary every thing up.’”
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