In the world of professional golf, Viktor Hovland‘s rise to fame has been nothing short of extraordinary. The young Norwegian has won over fans’ hearts with his stunning shot-making and composed personality since going professional in 2019. He put up a masterful performance in 2023, winning the FedEx Cup to cement his status as one of the best. However, the 2024 season hasn’t been as kind.

Hovland had great hopes going into the Masters Tournament at Augusta National, but things quickly went wrong. He finished the second round eight over par and well outside the cut line after a poor round that included a missed tap-in putt. Following his exit from the Masters, Hovland has withdrawn from the forthcoming RBC Heritage.

In the aftermath of the 26-year-old’s withdrawal, PGA Tour Pro Michael S. Kim offered some insightful words of wisdom. “He’s going through struggles that every single pro, even Tiger, goes thru,” Kim acknowledged. “But everyone that fights back and works hard at it like Viktor, becomes an even better golfer after the slump.”

Kim then went on to add, “There is an innocence of not really knowing what makes you special when you’re young; the ball just goes straight.” He explained this by saying, “You THINK you have many of the answers when you really don’t and you were getting by with pure talent and young confidence. It’s during these struggles that you really learn about your swing and what makes it tick.”

This is not the first time this year that he has withdrawn from the event in hopes of getting better at his game. He did so after he was frustrated with his game at Pebble Beach wherein he finished at 58th position. The former PGA Tour pro Henrik Bjornstad said, “He was frustrated throughout the previous tournament. He was frustrated and cursed all the time, and it didn’t seem like he found either part satisfying.”

Unfortunately, not every fan appears to feel the same way Kim and Bjornstad do about Hovland’s predicament. Social media responses depict a fan base that is unforgiving and ready to pass judgment.

Fans are not kind to Viktor Hovland

“I think Hovland has fallen out of love with the game,” a fan said plainly. This comes after the fans have repeatedly seen the Norwegian pro fall short of breaking into the top 10 or even the top 20, in any event, this year. The only event where he played even moderately well was the Genesis Invitational, where he finished  T19.

Some fans even went so far as to suggest that Hovland’s recent struggles are the result of poor decision-making, with one commenting, “I’m sorry but players like Hovland, Thomas, etc. don’t play in enough tournaments any more. As for Hovland, he should have never gotten rid of swing coach Mayo.” Mayo helped the young golfer reach his best potential in 2023, but before this year’s season opener, news came out that the two had parted ways. The pro appointed Grant Waite as his new swing coach but was seen at the ANGC with new swing coach Dana Dahlquist.

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The fan who said, “He is going LIV,” perhaps gave rise to the most worrying rumor, that Hovland was thinking of joining the LIV Golf. Earlier this year also, a lot of speculations regarding his defection came out when he withdrew from three events after competing in the season opener. He then WD from Phoenix Open too! So far, the pro has played 5 regular Tour events. Continuing the defection speculation, a fan commented, “What’s his team gonna be? How about Vikings GC?”

The golfer has time and again hushed down his defection rumors! Will this be the case this time too? It remains to be seen!