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Anyone who has seen Viktor Hovland play knows that he is bound for greatness. The Norwegian possesses exquisite talent and skills that have helped him rank high on OWGR. He is still within the top 10 players in the world despite enduring a trophyless 2024 season. However, Hovland did come incredibly close to winning twice last year at the PGA Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Unfortunately, he only missed out by a few strokes.
But there is no doubt that he will get back to winning ways soon. Many professionals in the sport have faith in him, including Joe Mayo. Mayo is an accomplished instructor who has trained many professional golfers. One of them is Viktor Hovland. Mayo recently sat down for an interview speaking about Hovland at length. Let’s see what he had to say.
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Joe Mayo’s views on Viktor Hovland
Joe Mayo and Viktor Hovland have had an on-again-off-again relationship for many years. The two met when the Norwegian was still an amateur finding his way into the circuit. Hovland was already seen as a star by many, including Mayo, even before he turned professional in 2019.
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The swing coach joined a No Laying Up podcast with the hosts, KVV and Soly, on YouTube a few hours ago. The group had a number of great conversations reflecting on Mayo’s time as a coach. During one of the segments, Soly brought up the topic of Viktor Hovland. He asked Mayo what he thought of the 6x PGAT winner. After sharing a few details of his first meeting with Hovland, the instructor replied, “In late 2019, I think it was August or September, he (Viktor Hovland) calls me up and says, ‘Hey, I’d like you to take a look at my swings.” This was a time when the PGA Tour pro was going through a bad run.
Mayo mentions that he still has the analysis he did about Hovland 5 years later. The coach said that he asked Hovland to “stay away from golf instructions, and that includes me. I caution you to leave this alone” 3-4 times throughout the 30-35 minute analysis. Mayo said that he “wasn’t going to” drag him into coaching if he didn’t need it. After watching him drive off at a TPC course, the swing instructor blurted, “What the hell am I supposed to do with that?” He thought that Viktor Hovland was “one of the best ball hitters walking the face of this earth.” After getting a bit of liquid courage, Mayo honestly told Hovland, “Viktor, I like you a lot. But I don’t want a damn thing from you.” He believed that the 2023 Tour Championship winner had no use for him.
Mayo even clarified that he “said that knowing full well that this is a potential major championship sitting on my couch.” This just shows the selfless personality of Joe Mayo. He said that he only did it “because it was the right thing to do.”
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Mayo’s honesty is truly commendable. But this also goes to show how talented Viktor Hovland was even during his rookie year. There is a reason he has been able to keep up with the best in golf so often. Having said that, let’s take a look at Viktor Hovland’s achievements since 2019.
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Hovland’s 5 years of triumph
Viktor Hovland has won 6 official PGA Tour titles from 2019 to the present. His best year was definitely 2023, when he captured 3 individual championships and a Ryder Cup victory with Team Europe. Hovland also has two back-to-back Hero World Challenge wins in 2021 and 2022. The Norwegian has even dominated the DP World Tour, winning 2 events in Europe.
Besides his victories, Viktor Hovland has finished as a runner-up and in 3rd place 5 times each. And this is just in the PGA Tour. However, 2025 hasn’t been that great for Hovland. He came off an injury that had kept him away from the course for a few months. Hovland failed to finish T36 in The Sentry and missed the cut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in the past few weeks. His next appearance is at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament on January 30.
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Leading off Joe Mayo’s statement, do you think Viktor Hovland will win a major championship in 2025? Share your views in the comments section.
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Debate
Can Viktor Hovland bounce back in 2025 and finally clinch that elusive major championship?
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Can Viktor Hovland bounce back in 2025 and finally clinch that elusive major championship?
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