There are no more rumors about Viktor Hovland playing golf on LIV. He also says that the PGA Tour’s management wasn’t doing a good job.
Viktor Hovland says he doesn’t like the way the LIV Golf League works. That being said, the Norwegian golfer says he knows why players like Jon Rahm quit for LIV and that those players are not to blame for the split in the game.
While on Discovery’s golf show “Fore” in Norway (his words were translated into English), Hovland said, “I doubt that” you will catch him at LIV Golf because he just signed up for six PGA Tour events. He was very critical of the PGA Tour, though.
The 26-year-old Hovland, who won the FedEx Cup three times in 2023, said, “I don’t think I could have become more of a golfer if I had gone to LIV.” “After that, it’s kind of the end of the case.”
“I don’t blame people who choose to go over there, though.” Then we need to try to make a deal in the end. “Let’s see.” It would be silly to say bad things about the players for going.
Ever since Rahm joined LIV Golf, Hovland had been linked to the team, but he has now, at least for now, put those rumors to rest.
He has agreed to play in the Sentry, the first tournament of the season in two weeks, as well as the AT&T Pebble Beach Golf Club Pro-Am, the WM Phoenix Open, and the Genesis Invitational.
Hovland, on the other hand, said he “really wasn’t that shocked” when Rahm quit. He blames PGA Tour management on the ongoing disagreement as the two groups try to come up with a “framework deal” that would bring the game together.
“It would be a bit silly to criticize the players for leaving,” he stated. “After all, the news only shows one side of things, and here, a lot of different things are going on at the same time.”
It makes sense to me why he left. That’s a huge amount of cash. When the PGA Tour’s management has done this bad job, at least.
For the record, I’m not unhappy with my situation; in fact, I’m thankful for everything. But the people in charge haven’t done a good job.
They don’t really see those who play as part of the group, more like workers. We are the PGA Tour, after all. There is nothing without the players.
“If you see what goes on behind closed doors, you’ll see that the management makes choices that aren’t best for the players but for themselves along with what they think is best… they are businesses who say, ‘No, it ought to seem like this and that.'” There is a lot of pride going on behind it all.”
Because LIV is a signature event, three of Hovland’s first six PGA Tour events will not have a cut. However, he said that LIV’s setup was bad.
“You need the competition with 150 players and a cut,” he stated. “You’re out if you don’t play well enough.”
There’s something in it that helps you play better. I don’t think I would have become a better player if I had gone to LIV.
To win the FedEx Cup, Hovland won both the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship at the end of the season. A little while ago, he won the Memorial Tournament.
Viktor Hovland said he fully understands how Jon Rahm joined the LIV Golf League. However, the No. 4 ranked player in the world has no plans to become the next big name to leave for the Saudi-backed league.
He said on the Norwegian podcast “Fore” that he doesn’t think he would move to LIV Golf because of the league’s “no-cut” model.
He is from Oslo and used to play golf for Oklahoma State. He has won six times on the PGA Tour and twice on the DP World Tour. In the world rankings, he is currently in fourth place.
The huge amount of money Rahm signed for, including the deal and signing bonuses, was said to be more than $550 million. But he did criticize the “arrogance” shown by the PGA Tour’s leaders.
“After all, you only hear one side in the news,” Hovland said in Norwegian, as translated by Eurosport Norway for Golfweek. “But there are a lot of different parts going on at the same time.” “I get why he left very well. “That cash is very valuable.”