In 119 starts on the PGA Tour, Viktor Hovland has made the cut 103 times. That is a whopping 86.5%. Right after a rather average 2024, Hovland has been mightily struggling in 2025 too. In the 5 events before the Valspar Championship, the Norwegian has made the cut at only two events, reducing his rate to 40%. Of the two events, he did qualify for the weekend, one had no cutline, i.e. the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. For a 27-year-old who took the PGA Tour circuit by storm merely two years ago, BMW and Tour Championships, winning this is an unprecedented fall-off. However, the Valspar Championship is proving to be very fruitful for Hovland.
He is currently tied for first place after three rounds of play, a small comeback to normalcy for the Oklahoma State University grad. You must be intrigued to know what is fueling this come back of sorts, and what actually is happening on the course with the six-time PGA Tour winner.
Viktor Hovland opens up about what changed this week
Speaking after his round three battle, Hovland felt that the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort is exactly what his game needs now. A course that works on strategy and execution rather than brute power. “It’s golf, it’s a crazy game. I do think for just this type of golf course really fits me right now. It’s not like you have to bomb the drivers everywhere, it’s more of a positioning golf course,” opined the Norwegian.
“I do feel like I can hit some nice iron shots that end up close to the hole, because even though I haven’t been swinging it all that great my stats with the irons have been pretty decent the last few weeks. So at a golf course like this I still feel like I can give myself a lot of looks for birdie,” said Hovland expressing how his understanding of his game has evolved. Advanced stats do support his theory. In both his recent cutline failures, i.e. the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the PLAYERS Championship, Hovland failed to gain strokes in any of the four categories(Off the Tee, Around the Green, Putting, Approach to Green) except for Approach to Green where his numbers are better than most players who made the cutline.
Even at Florida this week, Hovland has positioned himself really well, thanks to his good approach game. But what has changed is that his drive and putt have picked up the slack. He is currently 8th in strokes gained from putting and 16th in strokes gained from the tee. This overall improvement has vaulted him into contention and a shot at earning his first PGA Tour title in more than 1 and a half years. This overall improvement is exactly what the young Norwegian needs as the Masters Tournament comes fast approaching.
He started the season strong with a decent T36 finish at the Sentry before finishing T22 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. However, Hovland will not fondly remember the next three events as he missed the cut at all of them. While at both the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he missed the cut by just one stroke, the PLAYERS proved to be a different story.
Hovland missed the cutline at the TPC Sawgrass by a forgettable 5 strokes after scoring 8 over par in the first round. That’s not what you expect from a player of such a high caliber. He had nearly not participated in the event, having deliberated a lot before committing. His form could be the reason for this delay in decision-making. He stated, “Yeah, I’ve done a few of those lately. Yeah, no, it’s nice. Obviously, it wasn’t feeling great before this week, but you just never know. You find a feel and you start making some putts and before you know it you have a chance to win tomorrow. So that’s cool.”
This is the first time in 574 days that the Norwegian goes into the fourth day of a competition with a lead. The last time this happened was the 2023 Tour Championship which he ended up winning with a brilliant 5-stroke lead over Xander Schauffele. That was also his last PGA Tour victory. The current T1 position has been one borne out of patience and perseverance.
Viktor Hovland holds a 54-hole lead for the first time in 574 days.
He shot 80 at Sawgrass 9 days ago. pic.twitter.com/ctCbB1AbzV
— Underdog Golf (@UnderdogGolf) March 22, 2025
Notably, just a few weeks ago, the golfer had rejoined hands with Grant Waite, the swing coach. This marked his fifth change since the beginning of 2024 when he parted ways with Joe Mayo. Maybe the reason he made the change was he knew only Waite could help him overcome his issues. After all, Hovland does think Waite is really smart and brings a good perspective to his game. “So I’m still working through some changes and I just need to keep working on it. But it’s nice to see that the things that you’re working on is leading to better results immediately, and it’s always a good sign,” he also mentioned.
And this growth would be something he would want to hold on to. But there is stiff competition from all sides.
The current Valspar Championship leaderboard
Hovland is currently in a three-way tie for the first place, along side Colombian golfer Nico Echavarria and American Jacob Bridgeman. The key difference would be that both of his current competitors already boast a second-placed finish on the Tour this season, which means they will not want to settle for anything else. Bridgeman, in particular, will be looking to claim his first-ever PGA Tour victory with a strong showing on the last day.
Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry are closely following behind the pack at T5, two strokes off the lead. In fact, the field is so packed that the top 23 players are only separated by just five strokes, meaning that it could be anyone’s game on the last day of proceedings at the Innisbrook Resort.
Do you think Viktor Hovland will be able to hold off the competition and claim his seventh PGA Tour title this weekend? Or do you think the pressure would be too much for the Norwegian to handle?
The post ‘Wasn’t Feeling Great’: Viktor Hovland Drops Honest Confession After Breaking 574 Days Curse at Valspar appeared first on EssentiallySports.