Viktor Hovland breaks toe in Hawaii after four-month break from competition

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Viktor Hovland will have been out of competition for 122 days when he starts Thursday at The Sentry. It’s the longest break of her professional career and the Norwegian star was excited to get started.

And then he flew to Hawaii and didn’t spend a single night without suffering a strange injury.

Hovland slammed the pinky toe of his right foot against the bed frame in the middle of the night, leading to an image he posted on Instagram of a clean break.

He managed to see the positive side.

“He’s the best at breaking,” he said, referring to his golf swing.

Hovland said it took him 24 hours to get from Norway to Kapalua and he was so exhausted he fell asleep in bed with his clothes still on.

“I got up in the middle of the night and was going to turn off the lights and get ready for bed and I hit him against the bed frame,” she said. “It happens.”

He walked with a noticeable limp while chipping and putting on Monday at the Plantation Course, but said he was already feeling better. I was recording it and taking painkillers.

“I think the hike is going to be the hardest part of this week,” Hovland said of a Kapalua course that has the steepest terrain on the course. “The swing feels better and better.”

The golf break was intentional. Hovland said he needed time away from the game to heal a nagging wrist injury and clear his head as he tries to improve his swing.

He split from swing coach Joe Mayo, reunited and recently decided to go his own way. Hovland won the FedEx Cup in 2023 and then had a bad year by his standards. Even without confidence in his hitting, he finished third in the PGA Championship and was runner-up in the first FedEx Cup playoff event.

Still, Hovland made it to the Tour Championship and remained in the top 10 of the world rankings at No. 8.

“Emotionally, it was as bad as it could have felt,” he said. “It’s great to look back and I almost won a major, I almost won a playoff event and I made it to the Tour Championship. “I think I have to carry that with me a little more and tell myself it’s better than it feels.”

During his four months away, he said, he worked on his game and tried to relax. Hovland says he felt like he was making progress and at least his swing is on the right track. But it wasn’t about tearing down his entire swing and starting over.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he said. “But you have to look at it from the basics. You have to question everything. If you try to work on things and it doesn’t change the image the way you want, you need to look at the basics. That’s when things tend to go wrong when you play badly. You have a couple of fundamental changes, you compensate for them on top of that and then your mind can spin.”

Regarding his coach, he only said that he does not work with Mayo. Hovland said he is using another coach as a consultant, although he did not say who it was.

The goal ultimately is to do it alone.

“I’ve come to understand quite a bit myself,” he said. “I can trust my intuition, but it’s good to have other people you can manage things with. Hopefully in the future I can be the owner of my game, my swing. That’s how it was when I came out. I had a chance and I played it. And it was good. So we’ll see.”

executive pay

PGA Tour players are scoring more than ever, with Scottie Scheffler leading the way with just over $62 million this year in earnings and bonuses.

PGA Tour executives aren’t doing too bad either.

According to the 2023 tax return, Commissioner Jay Monahan received total compensation of just over $23 million. Ron Price, the chief operating officer who is retiring after a 30-year career on the tour, has raised $13 million by 2023.

But it’s deeper than the top two leaders on the circuit.

According to the statement, four other executives or high-level employees received total compensation of $2 million or more, and a total of 14 received at least $1.2 million.

Executive compensation was 6.5% of total expenses, down from 3.5% of total expenses in 2022. Total revenue, according to the filing, fell $69.2 million in 2023.

Harman’s perspective

Brian Harman hit a high note when he won the British Open at Hoylake in a breakout performance for his first major championship.

His best golf did not follow. Harman came close to finishing runner-up at The Players Championship, but had few more opportunities. His season ended when he was about to reach the Tour Championship.

Harman did not consider it as undue pressure on himself. It was his setting.

“I did something great,” he said of his Open victory. “And I was proud of that. My year (in 2024) was based on trying to do great things. I play golf for myself, to find out how good I can be. I love the feeling of being in contention and achieving it, and I wanted to do it more. The pressure I felt was all internal.”

He was trying out a new putter when he arrived in Kapalua.

“It ended up being a frustrating end to the year because I couldn’t get my putter to cooperate,” he said. “It was a double-edged thing. “It was the result of really good ball striking, probably my best year hitting the ball with my irons, and that puts pressure on the putter.”

Divots

Tom Hoge had a great offseason. He was inducted into the TCU Athletics Hall of Fame in November and his wife gave birth to their first child in December. They named their son Thomas Bennett. … Michael Greller, Jordan Spieth’s caddy, returned to Kapalua. This week he will replace Max Homa, whose caddie, Joe Greiner, is in California on a personal matter. …Gary Player says if he could play just one round of golf, he’d go to Pine Valley. He says he’s been a member for about 10 years. …The TMRW Golf League starting next week has a two-year deal with Sky Sports to show indoor matches in the UK and Ireland, Germany, Italy and New Zealand.

Statistics of the week

The 60-man field at The Sentry has 10 players who are not yet eligible for the Masters.

final word

“Once someone sets the bar, it gives someone the ability to see it. All records can be broken.” —Padraig Harrington.

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