“I don't think I would have become a better golfer” - Viktor Hovland declines LIV Golf move, citing discontent with the format
Viktor Hovland will not be going to LIV Golf, at least not any time soon. The star golfer recently declined to leave his current tour, citing issues with the format. As golfers flock over to LIV, Hovland is going to stay put.
Hovland said via Golf Monthly:
“You actually have to think about what alternatives are out there. What is best for me? Maybe I can be a part of making a change in professional golf? It pushes things that way."
Ultimately, it's the format that is keeping Hovland off the rebel tour:
“I’m not such a fan of, for example, playing without a cut. You need 150 players and a cut. If you don't play well enough, you're out. There is something about it that makes your game a little sharper."
Hovland also said that he didn't believe the LIV league would have helped:
“If I had gone to LIV, I don't think I would have become a better golfer. And then it is, in a way, end of discussion."
He added that he "can't blame people" who made the decision to take the money and head to a new tour. It is a lot of money to turn down.
Viktor Hovland addresses divide in pro golf
Viktor Hovland believes that the fans deserve better from golf. There's a tremendous divide among the sport, and he believes that it's damaging the sport as a whole. He added that something has to happen now (via Golf Monthly):
"You can't have a split that goes that way, it only destroys the sport of golf. I hope that things will happen, but I don't know and neither does anyone else. I just hope that it will return to a certain normality in the future.”
Hovland believes that fans suffer from the divide at the highest level of the sport:
“It is important that the fans do not lose out on all this here. Without fans, there won't be as many tournaments for us to play, and then it won't be as cool to play either. We have to find a product that people want to look at."
Hovland added that "of course" there's a division within the sport. He also said that the PGA Tour is not as strong as it once was, which he said was "a fact". The more people that head over to LIV Golf leaves the Tour weaker, in his eyes.
Whether it's Jon Rahm or the others, players are flocking to the rebel tour right now. However, Hovland doesn't intend to do so.