After a low round, Viktor Hovland has found himself again

You don't need to hear from Viktor Hovland to know that 2024 has been tough.

Last year, Hovland entered the PGA Tour postseason on the brink of a career-defining month. He entered Sunday in contention for three of the four majors, climbed into the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking, and now, with three major events on the horizon, Hovland was ready for the next step.

You know what happens next. Three playoff starts, two wins, and one FedEx Cup. Hovland's career progression is capped off by playing in the Ryder Cup next month. Now, only one prize remains: the great glory of the hero.

If this last you heard of Viktor Hovland, you are not alone. Set for a third-place finish at the PGA Championship in May, the 26-year-old fell off the map for much of the 2024 season. After a season without missed cuts and top-10s in four majors, Hovland missed three of the four majors in '24, and played the regular season on the PGA Tour following his Tour Championship victory without a victory.

What went wrong? It's golf, so the answers are infinitely simple and complex. But the simple answer, at least for now, is Hovland's curious change in coaching staff after the best season of his life.

Now, with Hovland and longtime coach Joe Mayo back in action together, the game is back, too. Friday at FedEx St. Jude, Hovland shot his lowest round of a yearA 7-under 63 shot him straight up the leaderboard and tied him for seventh. There is still work to be done, Hovland said, however this the idea of ​​his golf game is starting to feel familiar again.

“I feel like things are going in the right direction,” he said. “At least now I can hit shots where, well, that's the old stuff, that looks like — looks and sounds like it used to. So that's great. Then some pictures I go back to old habits. It's just a matter of continuing to work on the things I'm working on, and hopefully I'll see some more positive changes.”

Hovland, for the uninitiated, is no stranger to hard work. He has often spoken of his love and appreciation for the “grind” of pro golf, and is an unabashed champion. Some of that obsession may explain why he chose to change coaches even after a historic season, but it also explains how Hovland was able to get the train back on track.

The sad thing is that he made a mistake in his path, the good thing is that he was humble and accepted and moved on. In an often punishing game, the last choice speaks volumes.

“Maybe there's something about putting your back against the wall and playing,” Hovland said Friday. “I feel like it gives you a little bit of that sense of urgency to do something. Maybe I'm just squeezing a little out of what I usually get.”

There are two long days left in Memphis for Hovland, which means any chance of the kind of “old” mistake that has fixed many rounds in the months since Mayo and Hovland got back together in May. But that means there are still two long days for Hovland to turn his season around.

It might not be the big championship glory he was hoping for when the season started, and it might not be the postseason he was going for, but Hovland doesn't need to say it to know that the win will be big for him.

Sometimes, the results speak for themselves.

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a news editor and features at GOLF, writing articles for websites and magazines. He manages Hot Mic, the GOLF media stand, and applies his camera knowledge to all product platforms. Before joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, at which time he was the recipient of a caddy (and atute looper) scholarship on Long Island, where he hails from. He can be reached at [email protected].