Viktor Hovland arrived on the PGA Tour in 2019 with a fantastic resume, having won the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, been the low amateur at the 2019 Masters and an All-American at Oklahoma State, but the Norwegian’s game was not complete. By his own admission, Hovland’s short game lagged behind his driving and it was significantly underdeveloped compared to his iron play.
Five years later, Hovland’s chipping and pitching have dramatically improved, he’s longer off the tee and he has won six PGA Tour events, including the 2023 Memorial Tournament, BMW Championship and Tour Championship, which made him the 2023 FedEx Cup champion.
To cap off an outstanding year, Hovland was one of the strongest players for the European Ryder Cup team that won in Rome. The Norwegian won 3.5 points while competing in all five sessions, including a Sunday Singles won, 4 and 3, over Collin Morikawa.
Hovland has been a Ping staff player since he became a professional and Golfweek recently spoke with Ping PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates about Viktor Hovland’s equipment preferences, what he has tweaked over the years and what he needs from his gear.