Viktor Hovland “shocked” by the current state of East Lake post renovations - “Looks nothing like it used to”
Viktor Hovland is at East Lake to play in the TOUR Championship, the final event of the 2024 PGA Tour season. It is the Norwegian's first visit to the course since it was renovated, and he is impressed with the new conditions.
Hovland held a press conference at the venue this morning, August 27, to discuss the state of the course. Hovland mentioned how different the course looks today:
"It looks nothing like it used to," the Norwegian said, adding he was "kind of shocked" (via Underdog Golf).
In response to reporters' questions, Viktor Hovland described the details that he felt had changed at East Lake. This was part of what he said (via official PGA Tour X account):
"When I saw [hole] number one I'm like 'wow, this is completely different'... now you have huge undulating greens with big runoffs, and instead of having tight Bermuda around the greens, you have really, really tight soyzia, so it's just going to play completely different."
In the 12 months between the 2023 and 2024 TOUR Championship, the East Lake Golf Club course underwent a complete restoration under the direction of renowned architect Andrew Green.
Among other changes, the circular greens were replaced with others with different undulations and shapes. Some greens have also been moved to make the game less straight, and the grassy bunkers have been restored.
Viktor Hovland's East Lake Results at a Glance
Viktor Hovland had gotyten a good feel for the previous course layout at East Lake Golf Club, and it shows in his results there. In four appearances on the TOUR Championship, Hovland has two top-five finishes, including one victory.
Hovland made his debut at the event in 2020, when he tied for 20th. A year later, he earned his first top-5 finish, tying for 5th. He tied for 15th in 2022 and won the event and the FedEx Cup title in 2023.
The Norwegian began the 2023 TOUR Championship with an 8-stroke bonus (8-under score before play began). With scores of 68, 64 and 66 in the first three rounds, he improved his position and entered the final round atop the leaderboard.
However, Hovland saved his best game for last and fired a fourth-round 63 to finish five shots clear of Xander Schauffele. The runner-up carded a final round 62, but Hovland was already out of reach.
Viktor Hovland's win at East Lake capped the best season of his professional career to date. In 2022-23, Hovland won the Memorial Tournament in June and the BMW Championship a week before winning the TOUR Championship.
He also had six other top-10 finishes and won the unofficial 2022 Hero World Challenge. He also had strong performances at Major championships, tying for seventh at the Masters, tying for second at the PGA Championship, finishing 19th at the U.S. Open and tying for 13th at the Open Championship.