Ranked 139th on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee this season, Viktor Hovland still found a way to outduel World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and come away with the win. Speaking to reporter Espen Blaker, the 28-year-old admitted he has been dissatisfied with the level of golf he has produced.

“Even though I’m trying to [talk] myself into good results, it hasn’t necessarily worked,” Hovland said. “But I do think that helps when the mindset is in a better place. I have been working on it. Previously, even if I had the best mindset ever, it wouldn’t have helped. It’s been too bad technically. It still doesn’t feel 100%, but I can still go low and win a signature event. Then you have to have an attitude that gives you the best chance of making it happen.”

Hovland‘s disappointment is understandable. In 16 starts this season, he has missed four cuts, with three of those coming at the year’s biggest events: the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship. 

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While he did get the better of Scheffler in a rare Monday playoff to win the $20 million Travelers Championship, Hovland has otherwise struggled to produce the level of consistency he expects from himself. He has recorded just three top-10 finishes in 2026, a return that falls well short of his own standards.

The dip stands out against Hovland’s own history. He missed just seven cuts across his first three full seasons on the PGA Tour, and made the cut in all 23 of his starts during his 2023 FedExCup-winning campaign. The closest recent parallel to this season’s stretch is 2024, when he managed only two top-10s in 16 starts and missed the cut in three of the four majors — a year he has since called the worst of his career. By that measure, 2026 is a shade better on paper, but the pattern of missing cuts at the sport’s biggest events has followed him from one down year into the next.

“It gets frustrating when you are at the biggest tournaments, and you don’t get to show what you are capable of,” Hovland added. “And that’s because I still am not 100% comfortable out there. We are still working on it, but it’s going in the right direction for sure.”

While it is a relief that the Norwegian feels he is moving in the right direction, his frustration did not surface overnight. Hovland has been battling swing issues throughout the season. In March, he even parted ways with swing coach Grant Waite as his struggles off the tee persisted.

Even now, Hovland continues to experiment with both his swing and his equipment, a process that helps explain the inconsistency that has defined much of his 2026 campaign. Regardless, as Hovland looks forward to what’s left of the 2026 season, he has signed up for something new. 

Viktor Hovland signs up for a new team competition

Viktor Hovland has committed to play in The Viking. It’s a new 12-a-side mixed team event celebrating the golfing rivalry between Norway and Denmark. The tournament, set to debut next summer, will feature elite men’s and women’s professionals alongside rising talent from the Nordic development tours and junior golfers.

Hovland will serve as one of Norway’s playing captains alongside fellow PGA Tour winner Kristoffer Reitan, while Denmark will be led by twins Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard. The former FedEx Cup champion said the tournament’s mission to support emerging talent was a major reason behind his decision to participate.

“I myself have been dependent on people and tournaments that believed in me early in my career,” he said. “If we can help create even more opportunities for young players in the Nordic region, I think it is worth getting involved in.”

Hovland also welcomed the opportunity to build a new sporting tradition between the neighboring nations.

“At the same time, I am attracted to the fact that we can combine it with the sporting rivalry between Norway and Denmark.”

Hovland’s season captures a tension he’s still working through: the results, including a signature-event win over the world’s best player, have occasionally outpaced the technical foundation he says isn’t yet there. That gap will likely shape the rest of his 2026, as he keeps refining his swing and equipment in search of consistency. In the meantime, The Viking gives him a longer-term project to focus on: helping shape the next generation of Nordic golf while his own game is still finding its footing.