2023 has truly been a landmark year for Norwegian golfer Viktor Hovland, who experienced both the highs and lows of professional golf. Despite entering the St. Jude Championship ranked 57th in the FedEx Cup standings, Hovland managed to secure a stunning victory in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, leaving golf enthusiasts and analysts alike in awe of his resilience and skill.
Hovland's journey to clinching the FedEx Cup title was marked by several remarkable performances, including completing three consecutive under-par rounds at the St. Jude Championship and a phenomenal final-round 61 at the BMW Championship outside Chicago. His winning streak continued as he secured the Tour Championship in Atlanta, culminating in an impressive postseason scoring average of 66.17.
Struggles and Turnaround
The year wasn't without its challenges for Hovland. Despite his recent success, he faced significant struggles throughout the season. His strokes gained approach numbers fell to +0.46 per round, and he found himself ranked 175th out of 176 players on the PGA Tour in strokes gained around the green. This slump was reflected in his lackluster performance, with just one top-10 finish and the worst total strokes gained output of his career.
Reflecting on his performance, Hovland shared insights into the difficulties he faced. "The things that I did in my swing that made me good, that made me able to predict a certain ball flight, I went home and tried to do a certain move – not necessarily because I had in mind that I wanted to change my pattern. I knew my pattern was really good, but I was upset that I wasn't cutting the ball as much as I would have liked," he explained.
The quest to refine his game led to unexpected complications. "Then in the offseason I made a conscious effort to try to cut the ball more, and when I did that, I ruined a relationship that happens in my swing that makes it really difficult for me to control the face coming down. So now it's just kind of me learning from that. I know exactly why it happened. I know exactly what happens because I've gotten myself measured, and now it's just kind of a process of getting back to where I was. But at least I know I have all the data and the facts on the table to go about it,” Hovland elaborated.
Relentless Pursuit of Excellence
The Norwegian golfer's transparency about his struggles is a testament to his dedication to the sport. "It's just not that fun to play golf when you don't know where the ball is going. I do pride myself in trying to make the best out of it, but it gets to a point where you kind of lose that belief – you just see a shot, and that's not good enough. I can try to grind my hardest. I can try to chip in from there. But you do that too often, too many times during the course of a round or a tournament, [and] it's too much to overcome. I feel like it's a waste of time for me to be playing golf if that's where I'm at; I'd rather be off the golf course and work on it, trying to figure out why I'm doing those things," Hovland admitted.
This reflection underscores the mental grind that professional golfers like Hovland endure. Yet, his focus remains steadfast. "I'm not sure how long it's going to take for me to play my best golf. It might be this week. It might be next week. But at least now I'm on a path to progress. I'm on a path to improvement. Whereas before, one thing is playing bad, but you don't know why and you don't know how to fix it. That's very challenging mentally. But at least now we're – I might play terrible this week, but at least I feel like I'm on a path to improvement, and that's all that kind of matters for me," Hovland said.
A Season Highlighted by Redemption
Despite these harsh realities, Hovland's season featured bright moments. His incredible performance at the Ryder Cup in the fall served as a reminder of his talent and potential. Though contending with internal struggles, he managed to shine on one of golf's biggest stages.
As the golfing world reflects on 2023, Viktor Hovland's journey stands out as a testament to the perseverance required in professional sports. Facing adversity, he managed to clinch memorable victories, demonstrating that setbacks, however difficult, can lead to triumphant comebacks.