Viktor Hovland Comments on LIV Golf Future While Roasting PGA Tour Brass

Viktor Hovland’s name has come up in the rumor mill surrounding LIV Golf and potential defects, but he put an end to those rumors this morning, while also roasting PGA Tour brass for their management style.

Hovland was candid in his response to questions he answered on Discovery’s “Fore” golf podcast in Norway.

Everything from his potential move to LIV, to his thoughts on those who defected, to PGA Tour management of the entire situation was straightforward and real, something many golfers are unable to do from a political perspective in today’s game.

Viktor Hovland on LIV Golf and the PGA Tour:

-On whether he’ll go to LIV: “I doubt that.”

-On the Tour’s management of LIV situation: “It would be a bit silly to criticize the players for leaving. After all, you only hear one angle in the media, and there are quite a few… pic.twitter.com/uG2ddRGQYU

— Golficity (@Golficity) December 18, 2023

The Norwegian, who took home the FedEx Cup this past season, has remained relatively silent on issues, which is something I think we all wish happened a little more often. However, his responses in this circumstance were quick, candid, and clear.

“I doubt that” you’ll see Hovland in LIV Golf. That was his answer, and more detail slowly came out of his answer as he spoke more freely:

“If I had gone to LIV, I don’t think I would have become a better golfer. And then it is, in a way, the end of discussion.”

But Hovland does not blame those who went. Being offered hundreds of millions of dollars to play the game while having a slightly more relaxed schedule and still being able to compete in the Majors is a big advantage for some. What comes next is the future of LIV and the PGA Tour, and the coexistence of both:

“Then we have to try to find an arrangement in the end. We’ll see.”

As Jon Rahm defected to LIV earlier this month with an official announcement, Hovland said he “really wasn’t that shocked.” But he doesn’t think the players who have left should be criticized for their choices.

“It would be a bit silly to criticize the players for leaving. After all, you only hear one angle in the media, and there are quite a few different parts happening at the same time here. I totally understand why he left. That’s a lot, a lot of money. And at least when the management of the PGA Tour has done such a bad job.”

A bad job, Hovland says. Who can blame him? After all, since LIV has come along, the majority of the PGA Tour’s narrative on LIV is that “it’s not real golf,” or maybe “it is an immoral move.”

But the matter of the fact is that players are going to go play where it benefits them the most, and as Jay Monahan’s salary increased this year, players see that they are fighting tooth and nail for better money, especially as they know they are the reason people buy tickets and tune in every weekend.

Why fight for it when a more financially comfortable option is available? 

Hovland recognizes the players are the product, and that they have not been treated as the reason the PGA Tour has tasted so much success:

“Just to be clear: I’m not complaining about the position I’m in, and I’m very grateful for everything. But the management has not done a good job. They almost see the players as labor, and not as part of the members. After all, we are the PGA Tour. Without the players, there is nothing.”

But LIV was not without criticism from Hovland, either. He had his own nitpicks about the format, especially the smaller fields and lack of a cut:

“You need the competition with 150 players and a cut,” he said. “If you don’t play well enough, you’re out. There is something about it that makes your game a little sharper. If I had gone to LIV, I don’t think I would have become a better golfer.”

Quotes provided by SI Cover Image via Outkick