– Viktor Hovland (5) is the provisional leader of the Valspar Championship after signing a card of 67 strokes in the second round, awaiting the end of the day. Either way, even if he loses the top spot by the end of the day, it’s clear that the Norwegian has already secured an interesting chance of victory in a very demanding tournament and course.
– The question at this stage, even knowing his immense capabilities as a golfer, is the following: how has he managed to lead precisely this Valspar, an event where there’s no room for half measures at the top of the leaderboard? It’s not an unfounded question, as just making the cut seemed almost impossible this year for the Nordic player, who has been undergoing a constant technical review of his swing and riding a surprising carousel of coaches for some time.
– Let’s make a timeline. It’s a bit of madness: at the end of 2023, Hovland stopped working with Joe Mayo and initially turned to Dana Dahlquist, although a few weeks later he started working with Grant Waite, only to return to Mayo in May of last year, a month in which he came close to winning the PGA. But the new phase with Mayo ended again at the end of 2024, at which point he started working with T. J. Yeaton, with whom he spent barely two months, before moving on to Denny Lucas, with whom he had worked during his university days. However, after missing the cut at the Arnold Palmer, he resumed work with Waite, who is currently in the coaching seat…
On the surface, a real chaos. Although it makes some sense to Hovland: “I make decisions every day because I’m trying to get to the bottom of this. From the outside, it looks a bit chaotic, but to get to the bottom of things, you have to make decisions like these,” he stated this week to various media outlets.
– Two important nuances. The first: on one hand, Viktor has actually hinted that the work with Waite at the moment is not so much about deep technical changes but rather about recovering old feelings and angles (in the left wrist, for example) of the swing that led him to success. Although, at this point, let’s not kid ourselves, the fact of going back in time and trying to rebuild his swing is almost a deep change in itself…
And the second: Hovland has actually changed his perception of the work he does with different coaches, whom he now considers advisors. He explained this to Norsk Golf, a Norwegian media outlet, at the end of 2024, after his last split with Joe Mayo: “I feel like I’ve learned so much that I no longer need anyone to guide me. It’s always good to have someone watch me, to watch my steps. So I send some videos to another coach, but he’s more of an advisor. I’m the one who manages my own turn.”
– Indeed, from the outside, it all seems a bit chaotic. But he wouldn’t be the first great champion to operate within these parameters, consulting with a trusted coach only at specific moments, depending on what he needs at any given time. This week, at Copperhead, things are going well for him under the supervision of Grant Waite. And next month will come…
– On Thursday, Hovland was solid from the tee. Today he putted like an angel, and this has been, in fact, the main reason he signed a 67, successfully handling almost all the recoveries he faced (7/8). We’ll see where the sun rises this weekend.
– Ryo Hisatsune (-5) will also have something to say in the remaining 36 holes, as he shares the provisional lead with Hovland after delivering a 66, five under par for the day, in the morning session. The young Japanese player also needs a boost in his game and results. It’s true that a few weeks ago he finished tenth in Mexico, but overall his records in 2025 have been irrelevant.
