Viktor Hovland explains golf coach split before Masters tilt
Viktor Hovland has revealed why he decided to split with his golf coach on the eve of the 2024 Masters at Augusta National.
Viktor Hovland has revealed a few details over his decision to change golf coaches ahead of the 2024 Masters.
Hovland finished 2022-2023 as the FedEx Cup champion after his sparkling form saw him win three times in eight starts.
He followed that flurry of PGA Tour victories with a dominant display for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup in Italy.
The Norwegian, now 26 years old, picked up 3.5 points for Europe from five matches.
He had also fared well in all four major championships.
Which is why his form so far in 2024 is a complete mystery.
News broke before The Sentry in Hawaii that Hovland split with instructor Joe Mayo.
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He has competed on just four occasions since then and his best finish came when he tied for 19th at Riviera.
Hovland has remained tight-lipped over his split with Mayo, refusing to say if there was a rift.
Earlier this week he was spotted working with the golf instructor Dana Dahlquist.
Hovland told reporters on Tuesday he's still searching for a full-time coach but feels like he's on a good track.
He said: "I mean, it's one of those things. Like, I was playing great golf last year, but it's not like I'm trying to change my golf swing.
"It's just sometimes [in] the game of golf you try to do the same every day, but then things aren't the same every day when you go to the golf course.
"I took a huge break after last year and when I came back, things were a little bit different and I had to kind of find my way back to where I think I'm going to play my best golf.
"And even at the end of the last year I still felt like, yeah, I was playing great, but I got a lot out of my game and it didn't necessarily feel sustainable, but it's not like I consciously went in and said, hey, we're going to change everything up."
Hovland said he believed he had got to the 'pinnacle' of his golf swing.
There were times whereby he'd be on the range for hours trying to figure it out, he said.
"During the Scottish Open and British Open last year, I was on the range for probably seven, eight hours after every single round just trying to kind of figure it out a little bit.
"So, honestly, like, I knew I was playing good golf, but it came a little bit of a surprise that I was able to win the FedEx Cup right after that.
"But I still felt like that issue kind of had to be discussed and kind of figured out and that's kind of what I'm doing now."
"I don't really let my mind go that far"
Hovland is making his fifth appearance at Augusta National.
He has three top-five finishes in his last four starts.
Despite an impressive showing thus far, he said he will not entertain the thought of what it would be like to win the green jacket.
"I don't really let my mind go that far, but it is pretty cool," he said.
"It is a pretty special jacket and just to be affiliated with this place in any way, that's pretty cool.
"Just being here is pretty special, so I'm trying to enjoy that and certainly have to take care of a lot of stuff until we get there, hopefully, on Sunday.
"But, yeah, [I am] just enjoying every minute."
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