The post Riviera shut down Viktor Hovland’s sneaky shortcut. He’s not amused appeared first on Golf.

The post Riviera shut down Viktor Hovland’s sneaky shortcut. He’s not amused appeared first on Golf.

To the list of famous trees in golf — the Eisenhower Tree, the Lone Cypress, the Ghost Tree — we can now add two more: the Hovland Trees.

A pair of sycamores, to be precise, now planted hard along the right side of Riviera’s 487-yard dogleg-right par-4 15th, a hole that ranks second-toughest on the scorecard and typically rates among the nastiest in the Genesis Invitational, too.

The trees weren’t added for aesthetics. They were installed as a defense against their namesake, Viktor Hovland, who in past Genesis starts has attacked the 15th unconventionally, launching his drive to the right, up the neighboring 17th fairway. It’s not the route Riviera’s designer, George Thomas, had in mind, but it opens up a wider landing area and a clean view of the 15th green. (Several other players have taken the same alternate route, but none has done so as frequently as Hovland).

Last year, of course, Riviera never got the chance to defend itself. Wildfires forced the Genesis to Torrey Pines. But in Hovland’s last appearance in the event at Riviera, he played the 15th in even par for the week — two pars, a birdie and a bogey. How much of an advantage that detour provided is impossible to say without having access to the alternate reality where he played the hole conventionally.

Regardless, this year, Riviera closed the loophole. In practice rounds, the trees appear to have served their purpose.

But if they’ve stymied Hovland, they haven’t silenced him. On Instagram, Hovland posted photos (above) of the new look with a caption that required no translation: SMH.

Hovland is hardly the first Tour pro to take a creative line in search of a competitive edge. At the Sony Open in Hawaii, Charley Hoffman has taken his drive on the par-5 18th down the 11th fairway. At the now-defunct Dell Technologies Championship, Justin Thomas and several others played the par-4 12th up the adjacent 13th.

Just as players get creative, so do courses and tournament committees, whether by planting trees or installing internal out-of-bounds. In 2023, Riviera tried a different kind of deterrent, positioning a tournament scoreboard in Hovland’s alternate line.

Hovland simply hit over it.

Good luck trying that this week.

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The post Ping’s G440 K just got two major conversions | Tour Report appeared first on Golf.

The post Ping’s G440 K just got two major conversions | Tour Report appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to GOLF’s Fully Equipped’s weekly Tour equipment report. Each Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants), GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh will run you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ping’s G440 K just earned perhaps its toughest conversion yet.

Viktor Hovland has a boatload of golf clubs still in his bag from 2019-2020, the years of his first two wins on the PGA Tour. But he has one less this week as his venerable G425 LST driver took a back seat to Ping’s new G440 K driver.

Hovland is a notoriously hard switcher when it comes to his gear, still playing Ping’s i210 irons and a Ping Glide 2.0 60˚ wedge. When it comes to the driver, he’s been close to switching to one of Ping’s new G440 line of drivers before. He made a surprise switch to G440 LST at the Masters last year before returning to the 425 before his next event.

But he was really impressed with the new 440 K in his initial testing.

“The spin consistency off the face is a joke,” he said on Tuesday. “If I hit it off the heel or the toe with a 425, the spin discrepancy is very large. Like if I hit it off the toe, I can spin it under 2000. If I hit it off the heel, I can maybe get up to 3000. Versus the 440, it’s very tight. It goes from maybe 2000 to 2600, so a huge gap. And it’s also faster.

“However, the problem is it launches a little bit higher for me. And for some reason, just with the setup that I’ve tested with, it tends to go a bit more to the right. Right now, with my golf swing, when I get stuck, my miss is already a high-right miss.”

Hovland would have been content to stick with the G425 this week, had it not been for poor performance off the tee on Monday, leading to an evening text to Ping Tour Rep Kenton Oates.

“Monday night, he wanted to try some shorter drivers, 45 inches,” Oates told GOLF. “And I was like, ‘Well, this is a perfect time to keep trying the K because the shorter length will take off some height and should help reduce the right miss.”

PING G440 K Custom Driver

$649.00 from Fairway Jockey

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore

What’s interesting is that the unique properties of the K driver, a large profile driver with an extremely deep and low CG, should help players square the club face. In early testing, it didn’t go as far right as the 440 LST did, but it was still far enough right for Hovland to start the season in Dubai with his trusty G425.

But this week, Oates decided not only to have Hovland test the K with a shorter build, but also with a different shaft, the Mitsubishi Whiteboard 73 TX.

“The one thing that we’ve always noticed and seen is very good start line tendencies. It’ll start where you’re swinging it and kind of just stay with you really well,” Oates said. “That WB did exactly kind of what Viktor needs this K to do: go a little bit lower and go a little bit more left.”

That was the final build Hovland went with. Despite the .75″ shorter shaft than his previous driver, Hovland was still retaining a 173-175 mph ball speed with more consistentcy and hitting his optimal 9˚-10˚ launch window with 2300 rpm of spin.

If you look closely at the shaft, you’ll see the shaft graphics are actually facing up, the opposite side on what they previously are. That’s because the shaft was actually built earlier this week for Ben Griffin, who also tested it in a G440 K.

Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana WB Wood Shaft

  The board is back. After a few years away, the vintage surfboard always associated with Diamana™ makes its return with Diamana WB. Built on an extraordinarily popular and tour-proven platform, WB brings classic low-low performance and the legendary stability and control you’ve come to expect after two decades. The first in the 6th Generation Diamana™ family, WB is designed with all the traditional branding that made Diamana™ so beloved, including flowers in the handle section, a surfboard behind the Diamana logo, and return to the original 53/63/73/83 weight class designations. But rest assured, the only thing throwback about Diamana™ WB is its appearance. Indeed, super high-modulus 80-ton Dialead Pitch Fiber is used in the butt section to deliver maximum stability and increased energy transfer and high modulus 46-ton fiber is used in the shaft’s angle plies to reduce torque without increasing weight for improved control and stability. Carbon fiber orientation at the tip section is optimized to further lower torque. The classic feel of this Diamana™ profile is achieved through the use of our proprietary Xlink Tech™ Resin System and MR70 technologies. Our Xlink Tech™ Resin System increases the strength and durability of the shaft while driving carbon fiber volume up for better feel. Feel and strength is further increased through the use of our aerospace-grade MR70 fiber – our strongest fiber to date.

$360.00 from Fairway Jockey

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“The shaft that Victor’s played for 5 years was a James Hahn backup driver because Hovland broke his driver in Mexico,” Oates joked. “So maybe that’s our key to getting Viktor into new product is just build stuff for other players and then work for him.”

Griffin plays his drivers at 44.75″ and neutral but Hovland uses his driver Ping’s flat setting, the opposite side of the adaptor. So the shaft ended up at 45″ when installed in Hovland’s preferred setting.

Griffin also ended up making the move to the 440 K from his G430 Max 10K this week because he was actually seeing the driver reduce his miss.

New Ping G440 K driver officially in play for Ben Griffin at WM.

Watching him crank this thing on the range on Monday was fun, but he actually seemed like he was gonna stick with his G430 Max 10k.

Ben has loved to test new gear lately, but he says he rarely likes to switch.… pic.twitter.com/0ZYyT8tJhy

— Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) February 5, 2026

Ping built him several drivers to test at home while he took last week off but he didn’t end up trying them until he got to TPC Scottsdale on Monday. During a Monday afternoon session, Griffin dialed in both a 440 K build and new 430 Max 10K build that could potentially go in, but after playing with it during the week, Griffin went with the new K and his gamer UST Lin-Q Powercore White 7TX shaft.

The three-time winner in 2025 is also using a new Maxfli Tour X-LS golf ball, which he said allows him to swing hard at the ball with his driver and not worry about the ball spinning too much.

Maxfli announced a three-year extension with Ben Griffin, which is now the only equipment partnership the three-time PGA Tour winner has for this season.

Had a really fun chat with Ben on Monday on going going the free agent route for his clubs, and he said Maxfli was the gear… pic.twitter.com/KGKf9fwd0l

— Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) February 4, 2026

“I’m a pretty high ball flight player. I’m able to put a lot of spin on the ball,” Griffin told GOLF this week. “So this new golf ball that’s come out, the Tour X-LS, is able to keep the same profile ball that I’m playing, yet knock down the spin numbers a little bit and knock down the trajectory height for me and it’s going to be a perfect golf ball.”

Why a game improvement hybrid is trending on Tour

Last week, Cam Young did something very strange with his bag.

Young, who had been playing a GT2 hybrid, switched to to a 20-degree GT1 hybrid with a Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80TX fairway wood shaft last week for Torrey Pines’ deep rough. It’s stayed in his bag for this week at TPC Scottsdale too. Tom Kim is doing the same with one in a hybrid shaft.

Really cool story going on with @Titleist right now with both Cam Young and Tom Kim adding the GT1 hybrid to the bag last week and keeping it for this week.

Young's (pictured) especially because it was built with a fairway wood shaft to play as a 5-wood.

The GT1 has a really… pic.twitter.com/2uyUSopeuV

— Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) February 6, 2026

The GT1 is a unique club in the Titleist lineup with an oversized, almost fairway wood-like profile and the unique ability to accept both fairway wood and hybrid shafts. Unlike the other two GT hybrids which have left-to-right CG adjustability, the GT1 has fore-and-aft adjustability.

While the GT1 fairway wood, with a large and shallow profile, has gained traction on the PGA Tour, Titleist Senior Director of Player Promotions JJ Van Wezenbeeck said last week at Torrey Pines offered an opportunity to reintroduce the GT1 hybrid to players looking for versatility.

“When we look at GT1, we’re not looking at it solely for slower speed players,” Van Wezenbeeck told GOLF. “We’re looking for trajectory reasons. This is an opportunity for us to do kind of these unique builds on this in-between club.”

The GT1 has a sharp leading edge that allows it to sit close to the turf, making it easy to launch. That high ball flight was great for the rough at Torrey Pines or the firm desert greens this week at TPC Scottsdale.

Titleist GT1 Custom Hybrid

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Titleist

But it’s the ability of the GT1 to take a fairway wood shaft, which will play softer than a larger tip diameter hybrid shaft, that makes the club so versitile for fitting.

“For Cam Young, we were trying to create more of a 5-wood type golf club, so we were able to build it with a 5-wood shaft and use a .335 tip on the interior diameter, but a hybrid outside diameter [on the hosel]. We get kind of the best of both,” Van Wezenbeeck said.

Big Tone goes low torque

Tony Finau made an under-the-radar switch to a new Ping Scottsdale Tec Ally Blue Onset putter last week during his T11 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Finau hasn’t gained strokes putting for a PGA Tour season since 2022 and had lost more than a stroke in each of the first two events of the season. So he showed up at Torrey Pines looking to try a mallet from his PLD Milled Anser 2D.

This isn’t the first time Finau has used a mallet as he tried an PLD Milled Ally Blue Onset previously at last summer’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Ping Tour rep Dylan Goodwin told GOLF they started with the new and unreleased Scottsdale Tec mallet putters since they just arrived on Tour at the end of last season at the RSM Classic.

“Tony gravitated towards the Ally Blue Onset again and the Ketsch 4, which has a hosel he had used in the past on a blade putter,” Goodwin said. “After going back and forth between the putters, the Ally Blue Onset ultimately matched better to his stroke and delivered the face at impact more consistently. As a result, his start line improved, and he liked the contrast between the white finish of the head and the black sight line, which he found easier to line up with.”

While the Scottsdale Tec version and the PLD Milled version of the Ally Blue Onset are the same shape, they have different optics, alignment features and perhaps most importantly, feels. This new Scottsdale Tec marks the first time Finau hasn’t used a milled putter face.

However, the putters sounded the same to him, so he didn’t mind the softer feel of the insert.

In his opening round Thursday, Finau gained .611 strokes on the greens, despite shooting a two-over 73.

Check this out

This section is dedicated to one cool photo we’ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a reason to share yet. For this week, check out Tony Finau’s Nike Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron.

Odds and Ends

Some other gear changes and notes we’re tracking this week.

Brooks Koepka led all gear news this week with his switch to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X L-neck putter. He missed the cut and lost more than 3.3 strokes putting. He did improve to gain nearly .3 strokes putting in the second round … Collin Morikawa also changed to a Spider Tour X, but with a flow neck … Jordan Spieth switched to the new Titleist SM11 wedges and a GT2 hybrid, replacing his longtime TSi2 … Marco Penge moved back to a Scotty Cameron Newport Tour Prototype and switched to SM11s … Sam Burns also added SM11s along with Tony Finau (just 60), Michael Kim, Bud Cauley, and Eric Cole … Aldrich Potgieter traded his Scotty Cameron 009M gamer for a new Fastback 2 Tour prototype … Chris Kirk added a Quantum Triple Diamond, keeping up momentum for Callaway staff conversions … Justin Rose’s putter last week at the Farmers was actually a backup after his gamer was damaged beyond repair.

3 things you should read/watch

A selection of GOLF content from the past week that may interest you.

Here’s why we’re ‘testing’ golf clubs differently this year | Fully Fit 2026 – Johnny Wunder introduces you to Fully Fit 2026, our new hope for all of our 2026 golf club review coverage and why we’re changing things up.

TaylorMade’s 2026 TP5, TP5x golf balls show why paint matters – TaylorMade launched their new TP5 and TP5x golf balls which feature a new microcoating technique aimed at making each golf ball fly exactly the same as the last.

TaylorMade 2026 TP5 Golf Balls

The best players in the world, like 2025 champion in Augusta and career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa have already made the switch to the fastest ever TP5. It’s time for you to make the switch, too. Microcoating No two golf balls are the same, but the all-new TP5 sets out to solve an invisible problem through our revolutionary microcoating finish process. Uneven paint and excess pooling in the dimples can compromise distance and accuracy. Microcoating uses precision application technology to ensure uniform coverage across the ball’s entire surface. Click on the video for a deep dive. Thinner Than a Human Hair Microcoating is thinner than a human hair and delivers measurable performance advantages: more consistent ball flight, optimized distance, and tight left-to-right dispersion. The Fastest TP5 Ever  TP5 has long been our softest five-layer Tour ball, but now it’s faster than ever. Employing our largest Tour core to date, the TP5 retains more energy at impact, which results in faster ball speeds and more distance at the top of your bag. Tour Flight The reengineered Tour Flight Dimple Pattern features new dimples that when combined with microcoating, promote a more predictable, penetrating ball flight with optimized peak height performance and increased accuracy.

$57.99 from Fairway Jockey

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6 full-bag club fittings with 6 different clubmakers?! Here’s how that went | Fully Fit 2026 – Take a peek behind the curtain of Fully Fit 2026 and see what the greatest golf gear nerd trip ever was really like.

The author welcomes your comments at Jack.Hirsh@golf.com.

Want to overhaul your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post ‘What precedent are you setting?’ Tour star questions Koepka-Reed moves appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘What precedent are you setting?’ Tour star questions Koepka-Reed moves appeared first on Golf.

Viktor Hovland, on a personal level, says he thought three words when he learned that Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, both former LIV Golf pros, were returning to the PGA Tour. 

“Oh, that’s interesting.” 

And then?

“And then I just go about my day,” he said. 

“I got stuff to do, things to figure out, so that’s about the amount of calories I’m spending on reacting to things like that.”

Still, the seven-time Tour winner said Tuesday he could understand the moves that have allowed Koepka and Reed to return. The players are unquestionably great, he said. But, in a press conference ahead of this week’s WM Phoenix Open, Hovland wondered whether other Tour pros would jump to LIV, then be allowed to return “without the biggest consequences.”

“What precedent are you setting then?” he asked.  

These thoughts followed announcements last month saying that Koepka and Reed will be returning to the PGA Tour after four-season stints with LIV, though each will do so differently. Koepka returned last week under the “Returning Member Program,” which was offered to LIV players who had won a major championship over the past four years, and his penalty included making a $5 million charitable donation and not receiving access to the Tour’s equity program for five years nor a bonus program for 2026. Reed, meanwhile, will serve a one-year suspension that started after LIV’s final event last season, meaning he would be eligible to return on Aug. 25, and he, too, will not have access to the equity program until 2030. In the meantime, Reed said he would play DP World Tour events. 

In the days since the announcements, multiple pros have been asked for their thoughts, as Hovland was on Tuesday. 

“I mean, just for my personal standpoint, I would say I enjoy playing against those guys,” he said. “I think obviously Patrick Reed being a major champion and great player and Brooks a five-time major champion, that’s a great addition to the PGA Tour. They’re great players and I want to compete against the greatest players out there.

“I think it just makes the products, the fields better. However, it does kind of put the Tour in a tricky position now. You’ve said one thing for a long time and now we’re changing things. What precedent are you setting then to the future players now if I can go to a rival tour, get paid, and now seemingly come back again without the biggest consequences.

“I don’t really have an opinion on that, to be honest. That’s something the Tour has to figure out. I’m sure there is a lot of people not going to be super happy about that, but at the end of the day, I just want to compete against the best players in the world.

News

“I’m in a place where I have to figure stuff out in my own game, and that’s basically where I’m focusing on. I don’t really want to focus on what the Tour should be doing right now.”

Notably, in a story written two years ago by Tom Kershaw of the Telegraph, Hovland said he had told his agent to look into a deal to join LIV, but he ultimately stayed with the Tour. “At the end of the day, the question is ‘What’s going to make me a better player?’” Hovland said in Kershaw’s story. “And hey, in 20 years, if I’m on the back end of my career, playing LIV Golf wouldn’t be too bad. It might have been a pretty cool opportunity but, right now, it’s something I think I’d probably look back and regret.”

On Tuesday, Hovland was asked if the Koepka and Reed moves made him “reconsider any of the decisions” he had made in his career.

“Not really,” he said. 

“I just see the news and I go, oh, that’s interesting, and then I just go about my day.”

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The post Tour Confidential: 5 burning questions for 2026 PGA Tour season appeared first on Golf.

The post Tour Confidential: 5 burning questions for 2026 PGA Tour season appeared first on Golf.

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we preview the 2026 season, Scottie Scheffler’s outlook and who will win their first major in 2026.

After several weeks off, the 2026 PGA Tour season kicks off on Thursday with the Sony Open in Hawaii. Last week, we touched on some bold predictions for this year, so this week, we’ll jump into the second part of our season preview. Scottie Scheffler has won the PGA Tour Player of the Year award the last four years, so are you taking Scheffler or the field in 2026?

Josh Schrock, news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): I’m going to take the field. Scottie just continues to get better, but eventually he’s not going to win everything. At least, I think. 

Sean Zak, senior writer (@Sean_Zak): It would be a bit stunning not to see Scheffler win three times in 2026. That feels like his floor! So who is gonna beat that? Rory McIlroy could take the crown, sure, but it would have to happen in the biggest events. If Jon Rahm was a PGA Tour golfer, maybe I’d feel differently, but he’s not. So I’ll take Scheffler against the field. 

Jack Hirsh, associate equipment editor (@JR_HIRSHey): Yeah, it’s tough to bet against Scheffler. Last year, we were wondering how he would top a seven-win season. How about by winning six more times and doubling his major total to set up a potential Grand Slam completion on Long Island this summer? Depending on how I feel on a given day, I sometimes think Rory McIlroy can be the better player at his best, but he’s just not on every week like Scheffler is now. You just can’t bet against that kind of sustained greatness. 

If Scheffler doesn’t win, who will? Or who will be the runner-up to him?

Schrock: I’ll take Tommy Fleetwood. Now that the PGA Tour monkey is off his back, he wins three times, including a major, and wins the POTY.

Zak: I think Xander Schauffele returns to world-beating form, so I’ll push my chips in on him. His floor was never really that low in 2025 despite working through some injury issues. He raises it this year.

Hirsh: I’m on the Fleetwood hype train as well, but I still don’t think (even if he wins the Masters like I expect him to) he will top McIlroy.

Last year, Ben Griffin started the season winless but won three times on the PGA Tour and earned a Ryder Cup pick. Who’s your pick for breakout player in 2026?

Schrock: I want to say Luke Clanton, but the results since he turned pro have been rough. He still has a lot of potential, but for a breakout player, I’ll go a different direction and pick Michael Thorbjornsen to win multiple times in 2026. I’d also look out for Marco Penge, who has one of the best swings in golf and is fresh off a three-win 2025 on the DP World Tour. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him stay hot and win once or twice on his new tour if the game stays in form. 

Zak: Rasmus Hojgaard! I’ll plant my flag behind him as the better twin, with all due respect to Nico. He’s won and contended on the DP World Tour plenty; enough that you’d expect him to do it on the PGA Tour. My dart throw is that he bags a win in the spring and maybe another in the fall.

Hirsh: Does Cameron Young count? I know he got hot at the end of the season, finally got in the winner’s circle, and was the LLVP (Least Least Valuable Player) for the Americans at the Ryder Cup, but I see him carrying that momentum to at least two more wins this season.

News

J.J. Spaun made one of the most memorable putts of the season last year to win the U.S. Open and claim his first major. Which major-less player will win their first in 2026?

Schrock: I’ve already picked Fleetwood to win a major, so we will stay there. All eyes will be on him at the Open, but I think he gets it done at Shinnecock in June.

Zak: Gonna put my faith in Viktor Hovland and his endless hunt. The talent is there. Here’s hoping everything falls into place during the weeks that matter. 

Hirsh: Fleetwood wins the Masters. Ludvig Aberg is the Champion Golfer of the Year. Did I stutter?

And the 2026 Rookie of the Year will be…?

Schrock: Give me Penge. I love the swing and the demeanor. He wins twice. 

Zak: We’ll keep the Norway vibes high and go with Kristoffer Reitan. DataGolf ranks him 39th in the world right now, which is about 40 spots higher than I would have expected. He hits it plenty far and putts it great. He can win in the weeks when his irons are above average. 

Hirsh: I like Penge a lot, too, but I’ll go with Johnny Keefer, the KFT player of the year. He nearly won $1 million on that Tour last year and then finished T7 at the RSM at the end of the year. Sky is the limit for the Baylor kid.

And your final wildcard bold prediction is…?

Schrock: Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler both return to the winner’s circle in 2026. Spieth will win at Pebble Beach in February, while Fowler gets it done at the RBC Heritage. 

Zak: Sepp Straka, major champion.

Hirsh: The trio of 40-somethings, Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, and Adam Scott, win three times collectively, and each one has a T5 in a major.

The post Tour Confidential: 5 burning questions for 2026 PGA Tour season appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘Tough situation:’ Viktor Hovland doesn’t see easy fix for Ryder Cup rules controversy appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘Tough situation:’ Viktor Hovland doesn’t see easy fix for Ryder Cup rules controversy appeared first on Golf.

Viktor Hovland wanted to play, but he couldn’t. And his withdrawal from Sunday singles at the 2025 Ryder Cup caused a stir as the Americans made a furious rally that came up just short.

The lasting image of Hovland from Europe’s 15-13 win was him fist-pumping in a putt on the 17th hole during a Saturday foursomes win over Russell Henley and Scottie Scheffler. He was 1-1-1 at that point, but a neck issue flared up during that match, forcing Hovland to sit in the afternoon. He withdrew on Sunday after an MRI revealed a disc bulge. With Hovland unable to go on Sunday, the controversial Ryder Cup “Envelope Rule” went into effect. Due to a captain’s agreement, Hovland’s Sunday singles match against Harris English, who was in Keegan Bradley’s envelope, was halved.

After taking time to rest his neck, Hovland is back in action at the DP World Tour’s India Championship this week. Hovland felt bad about being unable to play on Ryder Cup Sunday, both for himself and for English, who had his Ryder Cup cut short.

“The whole situation was pretty upsetting, just the fact that I didn’t get to play, and I felt really bad for Harris, who also didn’t get to play a match, even though there was nothing wrong with him,” Hovland told reporters in India. “He just didn’t get to play, and he was upset about that, and I feel very bad for not being able to compete.”

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When the final day of the Ryder Cup started at Bethpage Black, the Europeans held a 12-5 lead after Hovland’s withdrawal. They needed just 2.5 points from the remaining 11 matches to win the cup. Europe’s large lead suggested that Hovland’s WD would not be an important storyline in the final proceedings. But as the Americans put red on the board early, Hovland’s half point looked like it might prove to be the deciding tally in Europe claiming a road win. But Ludvig Åberg beat Patrick Cantlay, while Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre all put half points on the board to get Europe to 15 points.

After Europe finished off the Americans on Sunday, captain Keegan Bradley voiced his frustration with the rule that gave Europe a half point for Hovland’s injury.

“The rule has to change,” Bradley said. “I think it’s obvious to everybody in the sports world, in this room. Nothing against Viktor. But that rule needs to be changed by the next Ryder Cup.”

Hovland understands the frustration with the rule but also noted that it’s part of the fabric of what is supposed to be a friendly exhibition.

The rule has been in place since 1979, but hasn’t been used since 1993. The rule has only been enacted twice. In 1991, American Steve Pate suffered bruised ribs in a car accident a few days before the event. He sat until Saturday afternoon but reaggravated the injury. Pate couldn’t play, and David Gilford’s name was pulled from the envelope. The U.S. went on to win 14.5-13.5. In 1993, European Sam Torrance had to sit with an infected toe. Lanny Wadkins agreed to sit for Team USA, so no name was pulled from the envelope. The U.S. won 15-13.

“It’s tough. I think we’re so used to in sports that if you can’t play because you’re hurt, obviously that should be a loss of point,” Hovland said. “But I think in the spirit of the Ryder Cup and the spirit of the game and the history of it, knowing that this Ryder Cup is just a part of many, many Ryder Cups to come, I think it’s more of a gentlemen’s agreement that okay, you were hurt this time and maybe the next time there’s a guy on the U.S.’s team and we’re all kind of sympathetic about the person being hurt and not being able to play.

“I think there’s kind of a mutual understanding that if we were healthy we would all go out there and play. I don’t think people are using that to really finagle the system and try and squeak by.”

Suggesting a rule change is easier than finding one that makes sense. As Hovland noted, forcing the team with an injured player to take a loss would be an easy system to game.

“If you do change the rule and you give away a point, now there’s also the angle that okay, knowing that the other team is going to put out their best player most likely in the first few groups, they can just kind of put me out as a sacrificial lamb and take the L against their best player,” Hovland said. “So there’s other ways around it, and I don’t think there’s any ideal way to do it. I think that’s just a better way overall to do it, even though it’s just a tough situation, and at the end of the day, I think we’d all be wanting to go out there and play.”

European captain Luke Donald sees no need to alter the rule. The players want to play. If they can’t, the envelope is there — as it has been since 1979.

“The rule is the rule and it’s been in place for a long time,” Donald said after his team’s victory at Bethpage Black.

Editor’s note: For more on the ‘envelope’ and the history behind it, click here for this story written by GOLF’s Dylan Dethier. 

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Viktor Hovland won’t play Sunday at the Ryder Cup. And neither will Harris English, due to the ‘envelope rule.’

What’s the envelope rule? That’s the Ryder Cup protocol should someone not be able to play Sunday singles due to injury. Instead of a team ceding the point, the sides agreed that each captain, ahead of the event, would select a player to sit out — and that player’s name would be placed in an envelope only to be unsealed in the case of emergency. 

It’s now in play, as Team Europe announced that Hovland wouldn’t play Sunday due to a neck injury. In response, the envelope was opened, English’s name was revealed, and each team was given a half-point, making the overall score 12-5 in favor of Europe.

The envelope rule became a possibility after Hovland dropped out of Saturday afternoon’s four-ball play and was replaced by Tyrrell Hatton. Hovland played Saturday morning, but after the match, he took painkillers on the 7th hole on Saturday and received physio treatment on the 10th hole. He said he then hit shots on the range after the match, and he felt he couldn’t play on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday night, according to a Ryder Cup statement, Hovland had an MRI at a nearby hospital, then woke up on Sunday morning unable to move his neck. He did try to warm up, but his movement was limited and it was decided he couldn’t go.

“I didn’t want to risk it for the match in case it got worse and I couldn’t continue,” Hovland told reporters on Saturday, “especially in four-balls when you are hitting every shot. I had to pull out of the Travelers Championship earlier this year because of the same issue. I played two holes and then I had to pull out, so I didn’t want to do that. I’ve been struggling with it a little bit since then. Not as bad, but similar over the last few months.

“I’m going to get some treatment this afternoon and tonight and hopefully I will be OK for the singles tomorrow.”

Twice, the ‘envelope’ has been in play. 

In 1991, American Steve Pate suffered bruised ribs in a car accident a few days ahead of the event. He sat until Saturday afternoon, but reaggravated the injury, and the call was made he couldn’t go on Sunday — and David Gilford’s name was pulled from the envelope. 

Two years later, a European was hurt. Sam Torrance was dealing with an infected toe, and he needed to sit on Sunday — but this time, American Lanny Wadkins volunteered to sit, and the envelope was never opened. 

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Said Wadkins at the time: “I was a captain’s pick. The other guys have earned their way onto the team with two years of great play. I have played in eight Ryder Cups now and I don’t know how many matches, and I would hate to deprive somebody of the experience.”

On Saturday night, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said he was unclear what the protocol would be should the envelope rule be enforced. 

He also said he hadn’t talked to the player whose name was in the envelope, which turned out to be English.

Editor’s note: For more on the ‘envelope’ and the history behind it, click here for this story written by GOLF’s Dylan Dethier. 

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Viktor Hovland isn’t playing on Saturday afternoon. So ‘the envelope’ could be in play on Sunday. 

The envelope? That’s the Ryder Cup protocol should someone not be able to play Sunday singles due to injury. Instead of a team ceding the point, the sides agreed that each captain, ahead of the event, would select a player to sit out — and that player’s name would be placed in an envelope only to be unsealed in the case of emergency.  

That rule could now be invoked. Hovland had been announced to play Saturday afternoon four-ball competition for the Europeans, then was dropped (and replaced by Tyrrell Hatton) because of a neck injury — and there was at least some question of whether Hovland could play Sunday. 

The thought was raised on the NBC broadcast by analyst Paul McGinley, who is also working in an advisory role for Team Europe. 

“Yeah, the dreaded envelope may have to come into play,” McGinley said on the broadcast. 

“Hopefully that’s not going to be the case. We got a great team of physios with us. They were with us on our practice trip as well and well versed on all the players, a lot of trust in them, so they’ll be working their magic this afternoon.”

Saturday morning, Hovland and partner Robert MacIntyre defeated Americans Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley, 1 up, in a foursomes match. Afterward, Hovland told reporters that he’s had issues with his neck for the past two months, and that he took painkillers on the 7th hole on Saturday and received physio treatment on the 10th hole. He said he then hit shots on the range after the match, and he felt he couldn’t play on Saturday afternoon.

“I didn’t want to risk it for the match in case it got worse and I couldn’t continue,” Hovland said, “especially in four-balls when you are hitting every shot. I had to pull out of the Travelers Championship earlier this year because of the same issue. I played two holes and then I had to pull out, so I didn’t want to do that. I’ve been struggling with it a little bit since then. Not as bad, but similar over the last few months.

“I’m going to get some treatment this afternoon and tonight and hopefully I will be ok for the singles tomorrow.”

Twice, the ‘envelope’ has been in play. 

In 1991, American Steve Pate suffered bruised ribs in a car accident a few days ahead of the event. He sat until Saturday afternoon, but reaggravated the injury, and the call was made he couldn’t go on Sunday — and David Gilford’s name was pulled from the envelope. 

Two years later, a European was hurt. Sam Torrance was dealing with an infected toe, and he needed to sit on Sunday — but this time, American Lanny Wadkins volunteered to sit, and the envelope was never opened. 

Said Wadkins at the time: “I was a captain’s pick. The other guys have earned their way onto the team with two years of great play. I have played in eight Ryder Cups now and I don’t know how many matches, and I would hate to deprive somebody of the experience.”

Editor’s note: For more on the ‘envelope’ and the history behind it, click here for this story written by GOLF’s Dylan Dethier. 

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It’s no secret Viktor Hovland has been teetering on the edge of superstardom over his last few seasons on the PGA Tour. With a win at the Valspar Championship and a third-place finish at the U.S. Open, he’s shown moments of greatness — but many golf fans would agree he hasn’t quite hit his ceiling yet.

But, that might be about to change.

In a now-deleted video posted by Team Europe’s social media team, Hovland was captured talking with teammate, Shane Lowry, raving about his game and the work he had put in ahead of Friday’s first-round matches.

“That was a good one on the range. I haven’t had a session like that in two years,” Hovland told the Irishman, whose face lit up like a Christmas tree at the news.

While Hovland didn’t give away all the details, footage from his Monday range session (below) might offer a crucial glimpse into what’s clicking in the seven-time PGA Tour champion’s swing. The key? A simple training aid created by George Gankas, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher. 

The training aid Hovland is using is called the GBox and in a video about the product, Gankas explains this simple training aid is designed to help players rotate properly.

“When I built the GBox, I was doing it so a player could finish their turn. Which creates more speed, better low point, and the ability to turn back through the ball with a proper pivot,” he says. 

The result? More face control, which means better start lines.

How the GBox works

Using the device is simple — just strap on the Velcro belt and start swinging. But to truly unlock its benefits, you need to understand how it works. To get a clearer picture of the GBox in action, I reached out to GOLF Top 100 Teacher Joe Plecker for his insight.

“This device, from what I can see, is what we’d call negative feedback,” Plecker says.

Essentially, he says, you’re trying to swing without hitting anything. If you hit the box you know you’re slipping into old habits and swing patterns. Progress comes when you can consistently avoid the box.

So how does this help Hovland or even golfers like you? 

Plecker explains that with the GBox strapped to your trail hip, you receive instant feedback on your club shaft position throughout the swing. If you can swing without hitting the box, you’re rotating properly and keeping the shaft above your trail forearm plane.

But if you make contact with the box, that’s a red flag: your club shaft has likely dropped too far underneath, often a result of improper rotation. In most cases, it’s a sign you’ve taken the club too far inside.

And from what Hovland is saying in the clip above, it’s safe to assume that’s what he was working on during his range session.

“I just feel like everything has to be out in front,” Hovland says.

Plecker says that when Hovland rotates properly and keeps his shaft above his trail forearm plane, he’s able to minimize clubface variability that typically causes a two-way miss. While Hovland’s version of a two-way miss is far less extreme than the average amateur’s, the ability to deliver a square clubface at impact makes his shot shape more predictable. That’s especially valuable in a Ryder Cup setting, where precision and control under pressure are everything.

Improved rotation also boosts Hovland’s sequencing, allowing him to harness ground forces effectively and release that stored energy more efficiently. The result is added speed without added effort — a huge advantage when navigating Bethpage Black’s lengthy layout and dense, punishing rough.

Tune in all weekend to see how Hovland’s newfound swing performs and to see if Team USA can defend their turf against the Europeans.

GBox – Adult Set

The Adult GBox includes a velcro belt and two 6″x6″x6″ (Large) G boxes. The belt is designed to fit young adults, adults, seniors, and more professional golfers with a minimum size of 28 inches and maximum size of 52 inches around the waist. Please measure your waist above your hip line. One box has a white stripe and each is made of versatile neoprene. A velcro attachment on the back of the boxes enable you to attach it to the belt at your seam line.

Buy Now from gankassports.com

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Last week, the PGA Tour officially announced Brian Rolapp as incoming CEO. The beginning of the Rolapp Era means the beginning of the end of the Jay Monahan Era, which also means the next chapter of the PGA Tour-LIV saga — sure to be a defining issue of Rolapp’s tenure — is beginning, too.

The Tour has stabilized in the three-plus years since LIV’s first staged tournament and the frantic summer that followed. Players have largely stopped leaving. Sponsors are largely sticking around. TV ratings are largely ticking back up. The state of the Tour is optimistic. But that doesn’t mean everything’s perfect nor that professional golf is all the way healed; as evidence, this week the Tour’s Rocket Classic in Detroit will face off against LIV’s Dallas event. So even as the temperature has cooled in the league-vs.-league rivalry, the ongoing schism has people wondering what could have been done differently.

It’ll be interesting to see if we get some sort of exit interview where, with the benefit of hindsight, the longtime commish dives into some what-ifs. In the meantime, we have Viktor Hovland.

Hovland has been one of the Tour’s top players these last few years and among its most interesting talkers, too. Mostly he gets asked about the golf swing but also sometimes about the state of the world. Enter an interview with Brendan Porath of the “Shotgun Start” podcast ahead of last week’s Travelers Championship (and ahead of Hovland’s unfortunate WD), where he spoke freely and delivered a couple particularly interesting takes on Monahan’s missteps and the state of the Tour.

Hovland said he hadn’t attended the players meeting ahead of the Travelers where Rolapp was introduced; he’d been at a Titleist shoot. He doesn’t know a ton about their new leader, but he said he’s not surprised that Monahan is out after what he called the “tribulations” of the last few years — and expressed some skepticism at his lengthy exit plan. “I don’t know how normal it is to announce that you’re leaving and still work for another 18 months,” he said. Hovland’s simplest (and, for my money, most insightful) answer came when Porath asked him what he thinks the Tour could be doing better.

“I mean, I think everything could get better,” he said. Then he got more specific. “Especially the messaging the last couple of years, certainly in the face of the LIV tour emerging, I think the PGA Tour didn’t really go with the best strategy, y’know? I think the Tour certainly had leverage in terms of just historical events, tradition. And I think they should have honed in a little bit more on that. Just playing the money game and the finances — that’s a tough one to compete against the Saudis. So I think they really should just hone in on the tradition.”

As a newly designated Signature Event, the Travelers has upped its payouts these last few seasons; Keegan Bradley just won $3.6 million from a $20 million purse. But in Hovland’s mind the event formerly known as the Greater Hartford Open has a catalogue of moments that mean more to its significance than the first-place check.

“It’s a great event, and I think it’s just really cool to come back to places where you know past champions and you’ve seen shots coming down the stretch that you remember from, oh, that year that guy won and pulled off that shot. Like, that’s what makes the PGA Tour. That’s why people tune in to watch,” Hovland said. “You see storylines from the best players in the world, winning again, defending a win, a new emerging player changing their whole life by winning a tournament or a top finish that changes their career trajectory. And I think the Tour really needs to kind of hone in on that messaging, and creating better storylines, in my opinion.”

Still, unlike some of his peers Hovland would prefer someone else handle the politicking and storytelling; he said he hasn’t been particularly invested in the Tour’s governance, given his investment in his own game.

“The last couple years haven’t been the best on the course for me, so I’m just really focused on that,” he said. What does he make of it?

“It’s a little exhausting just to follow some of the stuff that’s happening,” he said. “I can draw a lot of similarities from the PGA Tour to just politics in general. And it’s like, the more I invest myself, just the more frustrated I’m gonna get.

“But the Tour does a lot of really good stuff and I am excited to come to every single event and compete,” he added. “So that’s what I wanna focus on — but I do feel like the management side has been a little bit messy, in my view.”

Hovland’s pro debut came at the Travelers in 2019. He thinks he’s a more complete player in many ways; he hits it longer, he’s in better shape, his short game’s better, he can read greens better, he can work the ball both ways, he’s more comfortable under pressure. Still, he can’t help but feel nostalgic for the simplicity of the past.

“The ignorance that I had back then of just stepping up and hitting a shot and the ball just going straight and kind of taking that for granted — those days were pretty fun,” he said.

A lot of things were simpler then.

You can listen to Hovland’s complete Shotgun Start interview (and learn his favorite fruit) here. You can dive into Hovland’s golf-swing mindset in the Warming Up interview below.

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Viktor Hovland entered U.S. Open Sunday at Oakmont as the man who seemed most likely to track down 54-hole leader Sam Burns and etch his name into major championship history.

The 27-year-old Norwegian has been on an endless quest for the right feel. He was at the top of the golf world when he won the FedEx Cup in 2023 and then tore his swing down in search of something better, something purer, something that felt more like Viktor Hovland. That search led him into the wilderness. Forever the tinkerer, Hovland kept changing things — from swing thoughts to coaches — as he tried to find something only he could discover.

That search led him to an unexpected win at the Valspar Championship, where he beat Justin Thomas despite hitting what he described as “disgusting shots.” But he was emerging from the wilderness. While his swing still needed molding, he had the confidence that he could play and contend while trying to harness that elusive feeling.

At Oakmont, Hovland’s voyage found him in contention entering the final round after gritty rounds of 71-68-70 to start. That Friday 68 saw Hovland get “U.S. Open’d” with a bad-luck double bogey on No. 2, but respond to steer it on the house and give himself a weekend chance at a first career major with a swing that still needs work.

Those first three rounds at Oakmont were a reminder for Viktor Hovland that while he’s seeking perfection in a game inherently filled with mistakes, his infinite search doesn’t doom his present goals.

“I know that even if it doesn’t feel great I can still get over the ball and get the ball out there somewhere,” Hovland said Saturday. “I would like to think my golf IQ is very high, so even if it doesn’t feel good and I’m not comfortable I can still play the game. I feel like the way that I became good at golf was having something suboptimal that I had to play with. When I was a kid, I played with like a big slice off the tee, and I couldn’t hit anything but a big slice, but I learned to score with that. So I think that kind of sticks with you for the rest of your career. Then, last few years, obviously my swing’s been good, I’ve been hitting a lot better shots, it’s easier to score, and now when I’m not swinging it as good I still have the capability to get the ball in the hole.”

At the U.S. Open, a sport that has become increasingly more optimized gets boiled down to its original goal. It’s not a test that asks you to be perfect in full flight, but one that demands you fight while revealing your imperfections.

Hovland navigated the demands well through 54 holes. But after Saturday’s even-par 70, Hovland, who sat three shots back of Burns, showed his pure golfing soul when asked about his desire to win the U.S. Open.

His quest seemingly will always be about more than what fills a trophy case.

“We would all like to win, that’s why we practice so hard,” Hovland said. “But there’s also like a deep passion in me that I want to hit the shots. Like I want to stand up on the tee and hit the shots that I’m envisioning. When the ball’s not doing that, it bothers me.”

So Hovland arrived Sunday at Oakmont as the only player in the top 10 on the leaderboard who was inside the top 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Even without the swing he desires, everything was right in front of Hovland on Sunday at soggy, iconic Oakmont. He had major championship contention experience from the 2022 Open Championship and 2023 PGA Championship, his iron play had been superb through three rounds, and he had already flashed the mental fortitude required to not melt in the U.S. Open cauldron.

But on a rainy, chaotic U.S. Open Sunday in which the conditions changed drastically throughout the round, Viktor Hovland was unable to pass the final Oakmont test.

He made back-to-back bogeys at No. 2 and No. 3. He got one back with a birdie at No. 5 before losing shots at No. 8 and No. 9. But even as Hovland fought his driver and missed the putts needed to conquer an exacting U.S. Open test, he still had a chance to hit the gas and steal the trophy as those ahead of him also stumbled in the wet and windy conditions.

Hovland made five straight pars to start the back nine before missing a 10-footer for par on No. 15 to fall two shots back of the leaders. Hovland didn’t give himself a good look for birdie on the par-3 16th and watched as his playing partner and eventual winner J.J. Spaun drove the par-4 17th green to set up an eagle look and a manageable two-putt birdie. Hovland’s drive, meanwhile, landed in the right rough. He got up-and-down for birdie, but Spaun still led by two with one hole to play.

With the western Pennsylvania rain still coming down, Hovland’s U.S. Open dreams were dashed even before Spaun canned a 64-foot birdie putt on 18 to put the exclamation point on his life-changing win.

Hovland tapped in on 18 to put the final touches on his third-place finish and then turned to Spaun and smiled.

“That was impressive dude, congrats,” Hovland said.

As Spaun prepared to have his name carved onto the U.S. Open trophy, Hovland processed a week that could’ve been more but still gave him what he needed.

“I’ve been tearing myself down a little too much,” Hovland said Sunday. “Even though I do know I need to work on some stuff and get back to where I used to be in a way mechanically, but in the interim, I can still perform at a really high level, and there’s a lot of good stuff. Just got to take that with me and be a little bit kinder to myself.”

And with that, Viktor Hovland exited to continue his search.

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