Viktor HOVOLAND ended an 18 -month victory -dried, despite making some “disgusting shots”.
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Do you believe in Wonderen?
On the way to the 2025 Valspar Championship This week, Viktor HOVOLAND did not even believe in himself.
Almost 18 months had passed since his last PGA Tour victory, a long-term period of frustration characterized by changes in his swing and coach, but little in his results.
When he showed up on the first tee in the Copperhead course of Innisbrook on Thursday, the 27-year-old Norwegian star was fresh from three consecutive missed cuts and destroyed by deepening self-doubt.
“If you have no confidence and you don’t believe you’re going to play well, that’s pretty difficult,” said HOVOLAND.
It was Sunday afternoon and HOVOLAND spoke with the cameras in the incredible tone of a man trying to wrap his head what had just happened.
Even eerder, met een tap-in bogey op 18, had hij een 4-under ronde van 67 voltooid om zijn eerste overwinning te claimen sinds het tourkampioenschap 2023. Hij won de week ervoor het BMW -kampioenschap 2023. Zijn 11-under totaal voor de week bracht hem een schot vrij van Justin Thomas, die naar een drie-shot voorsprong was gestegen met nog vier gaten maar over het stuk gleed terwijl Hovland Two of his last three holes bird. Jacob Bridgeman finished in Solo Third, two of the pace at 9 under.
“It is incredible to see that I could win,” said HOVOLAND. “Because I honestly didn’t believe I could do it this week.”
His lack of faith was based on increasing evidence, including a discouraging show on last week’s player championship, where he took an 80 lap in the opening round. HOVOLAND fights against his mechanics and his mentality and was an 11th hour of access to the Valspar.
“I didn’t even know for sure if I would play or not until I arrived here on Tuesday afternoon and played a late nine holes,” he said. “I played nine holes in the Pro-AM the next morning and we were ready to go here.”
Anyway, ready.
On a tight, lined with trees that is one of the most difficult locations on tour, HOVOLAND leaned on his iron game to overcome an inconsistent driver-“I still make a lot of disgusting shots,” he said and scraped in a draw for the 54-Hole lead. Even then he wasn’t sure what he could expect on Sunday.
“I didn’t really know,” said HOVOLAND. “I just tried to go outside and play my game and I knew that I was not feeling super comfortable or confident, but I was really patient and just tried to play smart and I think that is a credit for myself this week that I had the feeling that I was playing like a veteran this week, as if I had been here for 20 years.”
Early in the final, a colleague tour star, Thomas, found a run. After he had demolished three Birdies at the front, the two -time large champion continued to roll on the back. Since 2016, Thomas has 15 Tourwints, more than any other player than Rory McIlroy. But he is entangled in his own victory dryness. His last title came to the PGA championship in 2022. On the 15th hole on Sunday, however, it seemed that the dry spell was intended to end when Thomas unpacked another Birdie (his seventh of the day) to expand his lead over HOVOLAND to three.
But then came the snake pit, Copperhead’s notoriously sturdy closing three-hole stretch. Desmisrant Drives of Thomas on 16 and 18 led to Bogeys on both holes. HOVOLAND played in the group behind and got a dead-eye approach on 16 for Birdie, followed by another PIN seeker for a rare “2” on the 222-yard par-3 17th. When Thomas 18 Bogeyed 18, HOVOLAND had a pillow with two shots with one hole to play.
In Golf it is not just what happens. It is also how you look at it. Thomas said he mainly saw positives.
“I take a lot of good things, much more than bad,” he said. “It is bad not to win if you are so close and have a big chance, but hopefully I put myself in the same position at Augusta and finished it better.”
HOVOLAND sounded less sure. Did he look at dark clouds or a silver lining?
On the one hand, the victory “certainly helps,” he said. On the other hand: “It is like some of the photos I take, it will make it really difficult for me to fight in Augusta if I don’t clarify that problem.”
