Viktor Hovland Burns LIV Golf Rumors Yet Again as Latest Wells Fargo Revelation Calms PGA Tour Fans
Viktor Hovland’s defection rumors have been on the rise and fall for a while now. From being roped in the speculations along with Wyndham Clark after Jon Rahm’s jump to confirming his presence for various PGA Tour tournaments, the community has witnessed a lot of drama. However, PGA Tour fans, do not worry. The golfer’s latest decision is sure to calm your nerves.
An announcement was shared by the official X handle of the upcoming PGA Tour event, the Wells Fargo Championship. As per the tweet, it appears the Norwegian professional has made up his mind to play at the signature event at Quail Hollow Club.
Viktor Hovland decides to stay on the PGA Tour
The tournament tweeted the names and pictures of both him and Tommy Fleetwood, revealing that the two “fan favorites” had confirmed their attendance. This would be Hovland’s seventh start on Tour for the 2024 season, the last of which was the Masters, where the 26-year-old went ahead to miss the cut.
Fan favorites, @viktor_hovland and @tommyfleetwood1 are in!#SeeYouThere #WellsFargoChampionship pic.twitter.com/867XoW9YXW
— Wells Fargo Golf (@WellsFargoGolf) May 4, 2024
That’s not all. Following a sub-par performance in the 2024 Masters Tournament, Viktor Hovland decided to take some time off from golf. This didn’t seem too surprising, since his numbers before the major championship weren’t that impressive. Why? Well, after tying for 22nd in a 59-man field at the Sentry, he finished at T58 in a shortened AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, followed by a T36 and a T62 at the API and the PLAYERS, respectively.
Out of the six starts, four of the contests in which the 6-time PGA Tour champ took place were in the signature events, of which his best finish came at the Genesis Invitational, where he placed at T19. However, Viktor Hovland’s decision to pull out of the WM Phoenix Open spun the wheels of the rumor mills once again.
It was not the first time the 2023 Tour Championship winner was associated with the breakaway league. Neither was it the first time that his actions or words went ahead to calm down those speculations in the community.
Hovland says no to LIV Golf
When asked about his possible jump to the Greg Norman-led circuit by the Head of Communication for the Norwegian Golf Association, the current world No. 7 clarified that he was not interested in doing so by responding, “Not true.” But, even before this, he had issued a subtle comment on the format of LIV Golf when revealing how the Saudi-backed league had reached out to him. “I don’t think their product is that great,” responded the golfer before adding, “I’m not such a fan of, for example, playing without a cut.”
Then why did he withdraw from the WM Phoenix Open, causing such speculations in the process? Henrik Bjornstad, Viktor Hovland’s friend, revealed the answer to this question. He said, “He [Hovland] was frustrated throughout the previous tournament. He was frustrated and cursed all the time, and it didn’t seem like he found either part satisfying.”
As frustrating as it was back then, the professional will soon have another opportunity in his hands when he tees off at the Quail Hollow Club for the signature event. Regardless of how it turns out, though, his fans will undoubtedly be rooting for him to win.
