Viktor Hovland missing the cut at the PGA Championship 2026 was one of the biggest surprises till now, but his rollercoaster year has been hit with another setback already. The Norwegian star has pulled out of a tournament closely tied to one of the biggest wins of his career.

Hovland has withdrawn from the Memorial Tournament. Neither the PGA Tour nor the 28-year-old has revealed any reason for withdrawal as of yet. That said, there are two distinct possibilities for his withdrawal. It might be that the nagging neck pain Hovland has been dealing with since 2025 has returned. He withdrew from the 2025 Travelers Championship after playing just two holes of the final round and then had the same issue during the 2025 Ryder Cup Sunday Singles.

The other could be that he is simply resting for the U.S. Open. He went into the PGA Championship 2026 after playing two back-to-back events, the Cadillac Championship and the Truist Championship, and that didn’t end well for him. On the contrary, he took two weeks off before the Masters 2026 and finished T18 at Augusta. So, it is very likely that Hovland is trying to repeat the pattern. There is another minor setback Hovland incurred recently: he lost a match against an amateur.

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The Norwegian was one of the high-profile names in Golf Channel’s Battle of the Cowboys on YouTube. It was a match-play event that pitted the 2018 Oklahoma State NCAA championship team against the 2025 NCAA champions from OSU. Hovland, part of the former, went head to head against Preston Stout. He lost 4&3.

Charlie Walker of HITC reported that Hovland’s match against Stout ended at the 15th hole. To put that into context, Stout, 21, has played in only one PGA Tour event this season. He missed the cut at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson after shooting two rounds of 69 and 76. Last year, he teed off at the 3M Open and missed the cut despite carding 4-under.

So it was surprising indeed that Stout bested Hovland so comfortably in match play. In all the WGC events he played, Hovland lost only thrice. It is also possible that Hovland realized there is something wrong with his game and decided to pull out of The Memorial.

The tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus is a signature event with a $20 million purse and takes place at Muirfield Village Golf Club every year. What makes this move surprising is Hovland’s history here.

In 2023, he won the Memorial Tournament after beating Denny McCarthy in a playoff and took home $3,600,000. This win was a part of a very special year for the Norwegian pro.

“Playing Jack’s course and tournament and winning it, and for him to be able to see it is pretty awesome,” the seven-time PGA Tour winner had remarked after his win at Muirfield. “He just shook my hand and gave me a couple words of encouragement.”

However, since then, Hovland has only been able to finish T15 in 2024 and then T25 the next year. Yet Memorial has always served his prep for the U.S. Open. This year that won’t be the case.

As for his 2026 campaign, the seven-time PGA Tour winner has already missed the cut in 2 of the 11 starts he has had. First came at the Valspar Championship, followed by the PGA Championship. In the remaining 9 events, he has posted a top-10 finish only once, at the WM Phoenix Open.

Where will Viktor Hovland tee up next?

The seven-time PGA Tour winner is likely to tee it up at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club for the 2026 U.S. Open. Open from June 18-21. His best finish came in 2025 at Oakmont, when he finished 3rd. Although there is another PGA Tour event scheduled before the third major of the season, it is unlikely that Hovland would play there.

He has never teed off at the RBC Canadian Open, which is set to be hosted at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. The field, however, is yet to be finalized. So if Hovland decides to change his mind, he can very well sign up for the event alongside Tommy Fleetwood, the Hojgaard twins, Sam Burns, Justin Rose, and others who have already committed to the event.

Besides the U.S. Open, he has committed to the FedEx Open de France 2026, scheduled from September 24 to 27 at Le Golf National.

“I am excited to be returning to Le Golf National and playing in the Open de France for the first time,” Hovland said.

With the Memorial Tournament now off his schedule, all eyes will be on whether Hovland can regroup at the U.S. Open after the PGA Championship setback.