$25 million per event! A winner’s cut of $4 million! Even such stakes weren’t “appealing enough” for the Norwegian professional golfer to jump to LIV Golf despite having a bad season on the PGA Tour. Interestingly, Viktor Hovland has been associated with rumors of a defection many times over the past year, but it seems the athlete has put an end to the same for the moment, all the while keeping his future options open.

“I have no hard feelings against the guys that went,” said an understanding Hovland in an interview with The Sunday Times, while alluding to the golfers who joined LIV Golf. Even so, the professional wasn’t too keen on following the athletes to the same end, even though they boasted tremendous money in the events. “For me, I did not think their product was appealing enough to go,” added the 26-year-old before pointing out the number of dollar bills he made on the PGA Tour. “I’ve already made a lot of money. I’m not a very materialistic person. It’s nice to make life easier for yourself, but that’s not what gets me up in the morning.”

Hovland had earned a huge amount of money for the finishes he dished out in 2023. Moreover, the 6-time PGA Tour champ topped the money list this year with a total of $37.1 million, a million more than what Talor Gooch, the 2023 LIV Golf Individual Champ, earned that year. The talented athlete won $14.1 million from the various tournaments, $18 million from the FedEx Cup victory, and a whopping $5 million from the Player Impact Program (PIP).

Although the golfer did express his intention to stay on the Jay Monahan-led circuit, that did not stop him from naming the Greg Norman-led one as a possible option in the future. “In 20 years, if I’m on the back end of my career, playing LIV Golf wouldn’t be too bad,” said the Norwegian before dubbing it as something he will regret if done at the moment. “It might have been a pretty cool opportunity but, right now, it’s something I think I’d probably look back [on] and regret.”

While all is being said and done, the professional himself hasn’t been having the best of years on the PGA Tour. He only boasts one top-10 finish (a T3 at the PGA Championship) from 11 starts. The dismal performances he had in the various events caused many to speculate about his shifting to the LIV Golf League.

Viktor Hovland and the various LIV Golf defection rumors

“I think it’s better for my golf if I play on the PGA Tour,” said an unsure Hovland back in 2023. Even though he might have just been thinking about it for a moment, a lot of speculation arose as a result of his uncertain stance. Funnily enough, Jon Rahm’s defection in December was more than enough for the rumor mills surrounding the 2023 TOUR Championship winner to start spinning again.

Fast forward a bit, and even the Head of Communication for the Norwegian Golf Association couldn’t help but ask the golfer the golfer about the same. His reply? “Not true,” said the athlete to the question that was posed to him. Anyway, Viktor Hovland seems to have just reiterated his comments from back then in the recent interview, seeing as how he is still not so keen on moving to LIV Golf. Nothing short of good news for the PGA Tour fans!