ATLANTA — When Viktor Hovland took home the Hero World Challenge title in December, he put an end to a year marked by many close calls and few victories. Hovland didn’t take the time to relax, enjoy his holidays, and think that winning at the end of the season would lead to greater things. He wanted to improve and that meant he had to become a better player.
He said that if you want to reach the next level you must look inward. “I think that when you are honest with yourself and question yourself, OK, what can I do to improve, I have to basically force myself to change some of these mentality things.”
The hard work that Hovland put in to improve his swing, short-game, Aim Point, and course strategy paid off. He won back-to-back FedEx Cup championships and received a prize worth $18 million. Hovland won the Tour Championship by five strokes over Xander Schaffele on a hot and humid day. The weather delayed the event for nearly two hours.
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— PGA TOUR August 27, 2020
Rory McIlroy, three-time FedEx Cup winner and “just doesn’t fear” said that he “just keeps his foot on pedal.”
The 25-year old Norwegian is a top player in the world because he has no fear and refuses to become complacent. Although Hovland won the U.S. Hovland, despite winning the U.S.
He said, “It can be frustrating to show up at events when you feel that you are not in your best form,” before winning the Bahamas in December. “You don’t have the confidence to think, ‘OK, I’m going to stuff that 7-iron’, because I used to do it when I first arrived here, and in the last two seasons, it’s basically been deadly from the fairway.”
Hovland was frustrated and he spent hours trying to find flaws in the game that would help him compete for world No. In January, he hired Joe Mayo – better known as the Trackman Maestro in social media circles.
Viktor Hovland with Shady Knight, his caddie during the 2023 Tour Championship final round at East Lake Golf Club. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images).
Mayo said that it was “amazing” for a player to win a tournament, and then switch coaches so soon after. But he’s also seen professionals who attribute a victory to “smoke-and-mirrors.”
A player can take a big risk by changing coaches. Mayo said that it can be a recipe of disaster, but Hovland was too smart to allow that to happen.
Mayo stated, “He won’t let anyone mess him up.” “He is too intelligent for that.” He has a bullshit meter.
Mayo used 3-D imaging to study Hovland’s swing. This helped him establish a repeatable movement and restore his faith in the squeeze cut. Hovland claimed that this was his best driving season. East Lake’s wiry rough makes it difficult to play, but Hovland could go flag hunting if he wants. He ranked first for driving accuracy the second week in a row.
Edoardo Molinari, a three-time DP Tour champion who is also Hovland’s performance coach, said: “His ball striking is probably the top 3 in Tour, particularly when he plays well.” “He never misses a shot.”
His short game was another matter. Hovland acknowledged that his chipping was “bad” early in his career. He placed 191st last year in Strokes Gained: Around the Green.
Hovland, who was standing in front of every shot last week, said, “Before I would say, ‘Don’t duff, skull, or leave it in the bunker.'” “Me and my buddy made up a saying: just land it on and stay on. When we first got a chip, we set the bar very low. It’s fun to just open that face, slap the floor and get some friction on the balls.”
Hovland was the first scrambler to win at the Tour Championship.
Mayo claimed that he did not even mention the short game to Hovland in their first month of working together. Mayo said to his pupil on Tuesday, the day of the Genesis Invitational, in February: “Anyone who can put a 4-iron onto the back of the golf ball and hit it at 240 miles per hour, are you saying that you can’t even chip a ball?” I don’t believe it.
Mayo began introducing the short-game package as tiny morsels at the Players Championship back in March. Hovland improved from 105th to 106th this season in SG: Around the Green.
Mayo notes that this figure does not take into consideration when they began working together. Mayo had Molinari run his short-game stats between the Players and FedEx St. Jude Championship. The numbers are not a lie: he’s gained.176 shot, “which places him about 55th”, Mayo said.
McIlroy stated that “that’s the difference between him still being a top-10 golfer in the world and what he has done this year.”
Hovland’s final component to becoming his best self was to improve his course management. Molinari and Hovland began working together last year, but their most important discovery was made this spring. Mayo asked Molinari for some numbers after the Masters where Hovland placed T-7. Molinari discovered that Hovland was short-siding 30 percent of time when he attacked greens using pitching wedge to 8-iron. The Tour average is only 20 percent.
Molinari stated that “sometimes he misses at places where no one could get up or down.” “The short-game is not as important as it is thought to be.”
Hovland said that his newfound focus on course-management was similar to playing poker, and making smart bets based on the cards he is dealt. He used the strategy to finish T-2 at the PGA Championship, but it was perfect at the Memorial, where he won the first of three events in his last eight.
He said that “anytime you can use math to your benefit, it can be enormous.”
Mayo has instilled into Hovland that Tiger Woods made his living by hitting to 20 feet and shooting 70, as well as winning many majors.
Mayo stated that “boring golf is a thing and Viktor Hovland will be difficult to beat if he plays boring golf.”
Hovland, who won the BMW Championship in Chicago a week earlier, said that he had “blacked-out for a moment” on his way to a final round 61. This included seven birdies, and a back nine 28 to beat world no. Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick and No. 1 Scottie Schaffler.
Hovland, who won the East Lake Cup for men in stroke play at East Lake in 2018, including his first hole-in one on the par-3 eleventh, began the week second with an allocation of strokes of 8 under. Hovland built up a six-stroke advantage with rounds of 68, 64, and 66. He continued to attack par by making four birdies on his first six golf holes. Schauffele (62) tried to reduce the gap to three by making birdies at seven of the first 12 holes.
Schauffele replied, “I will hold my head high.” It was the most enjoyable loss I’ve had in a long time.
Hovland nailed a clutch par putt of 23 feet at No. 13 was the longest putt of the week. He added birdies on 16 and 17 to round out a final round without bogeys and a score of 27 below par.
How will Hovland spend his huge payday?
He said, “I have nothing in mind I would purchase.” “I’m looking forward to some downtime this fall. I will just spend some time in Norway with my friends, and just relax.”
