After Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton’s move to the breakaway league, Viktor Hovland stood out as LIV’s next MVP target. Given the outstanding form, Hovland displayed in the Tour Championship last year, it was no surprise that LIV wanted to secure the PGA Tour’s next-best golfer. But did the FedEx Cup champion want the same? Was he lured into the big-money league?
Although Hovland’s name has been heavily linked with LIV Golf since last year, the golfer showed no positive response to a possible switch. Also, he recently committed to the Travelers Championship in June and the Genesis Scottish Open a month later.
Looking at this golf schedule, it’s clear that the Norwegian golfer has no affinity towards the Greg Norman-backed league. Also, this isn’t the first time that Viktor Hovland cleared out his intentions through his actions.
Last year, when Hovland was asked about his notions of transitioning to LIV, he replied, “No, I doubt that”, which was a clear indication of his disinterest in the rival league. Moreover, it’s been stressed by the PGA Tour pro that 48 golfers without a cut wasn’t the right format for him; it seemed less challenging.
Hovland was speculated to move to LIV, not only because of his amazing form but also because of his strong resistance towards Jay Monahan’s leadership.
Viktor Hovland strongly criticizes Jay Monahan’s leadership
Hovland didn’t shy from taking a jab at PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan’s miserable handling of the merger. He outlined the fact that Monahan didn’t own his mistakes. Also, he implemented contradictory actions, against what he promised.
“As a leader of an organisation, I will want a person like that to take some ownership and say, ‘Hey, we made a couple of mistakes, but this is how we’re going to rectify it’, instead of kind of sweeping it under the rug…there were some things that were said that has been walked back on and then things have been very contradictory”
Hovland felt that the chaos that had been created because of poor management had to be corrected in the future. Only then could he play with the best golfers again on the same field. He reiterated these sentiments in the Son of a Butch podcast.
“But I hope there’s a resolution in the future because at the end of the day, I just want to compete at the best golf courses, the best tournaments and against the best players.”
Given the current circumstances, where the PGA-LIV finalization deadline was crossed twice, Hovland’s ideal world’s chances seem bleak. But in the future, if the deal happens, then the Ryder Cup might have a full field with Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Sergio Garcia.
