ATLANTA – It wasn’t pretty but Viktor Hovland made it back to East Lake Golf Club to defend his title as FedEx Cup champion.
For much of the season, it was touch and go as Hovland, who won three times in 2023, including the last two FedEx Cup playoff events, struggled through his worst season as a pro.
“If last year was a nine out of 10, I’d probably say we’re still at a five out of 10. I know I can still shoot good numbers, but it just feels like it’s a little bit more hard work. It’s tougher for me to kind of string the good rounds together day by day,” he said on Tuesday at his pre-tournament press conference. “Last year I played well. I knew I played well. Every single day was a good day. Whereas now it just feels like a little bit more hard work. But at least I’m on the right track.”
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How low did the 26-year-old Norwegian’s game go this season? “It’s as bad as I’ve played in a long time, so we can call it a one,” he said.
But Hovland, who entered the playoffs at No. 57 in the season-long standings with just one top-10 finish to his credit, may have turned the corner, finishing T-2 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship to leap into the top 30 in the season-long standings and book his return to the Tour Championship.
“I feel like things are getting better every single week, so that’s nice to build on. Obviously I had a really nice week in Memphis and played OK last week. I just couldn’t get anything going with my putter,” he said. “I’d rather play bad if I putted poorly instead of hitting it all over Denver. I’m taking some good things into this week.”
Hovland called his lost season a learning experience and despite his game taking a step back as he played musical chairs with coaches and lost his dependable swing pattern amidst changes, he still managed to make his way back to East Lake and have a shot to defend his title.
“What’s really cool is that I’ve still made it to this week playing what I felt like is absolute garbage,” Hovland said. “I think that’s something that’s pretty cool to kind of have in my back pocket is that OK, we can struggle and we can still come out here and have a chance to win tournaments.”