After being the best player on the PGA Tour in the 2023 season, Viktor Hovland is nowhere near his best. However, the Norwegian has taken steps in the right direction, and the Valspar Championship appears to be one of them.
Hovland fired a 4-under 67 during the second round of the event that closes the Florida swing of the current season. That performance vaulted him near the top of the leaderboard at 5-under through 36 holes.
Following Friday’s performance, Hovland detailed his round and mental state as he looks to turn a corner.
“Yeah, very happy with obviously the result and the leaderboard. I still feel like I am kind of getting max out of my game right now,” Hovland said. “So not to put myself down, but for it to be sustainable at that level I need to strike it a bit better and it needs to be a bit more predictable.”
“So I’m still working through some changes and, yeah, I just need to keep working on it. But it’s nice to see that the things that you’re working on is leading to better results immediately, and it’s always a good sign.”
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Hovland’s critical opinions of his own game are fairly common, and on this occasion he elaborated a bit on why he feels that way.
The 6-time PGA Tour winner said he believes that asking too much of himself has led to his success in his professional career:
“I am hard on myself, yeah, but that’s also why I’m good,” he said. “If I wasn’t hard on myself I probably wouldn’t be out here. And yeah, I know that even with terrible mechanics I can still get out here and shoot a couple of nice scores.”
“But that can also lead to 80 shots at THE PLAYERS. Because it’s just… I don’t have control over what I’m doing.”
Viktor Hovland carded five birdies and a bogey in the second round of the Valspar Championship. A day earlier, the 27-year-old had carded three birdies and two bogeys for a 1-under.
Hovland has played five events on the PGA Tour in the 2025 season, missing three cuts. He was able to play the weekend in only two no-cut events, The Sentry and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Something similar happened to him in 2024. Although he technically made the cut in 13 of the 16 tournaments he played, seven of them were closed-field, no-cut events.
His season results included just two top 10s and six other top 25s.
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