Viktor Hovland has confirmed he won’t be shifting to LIV Golf however has criticised PGA Tour management for gamers as ‘labour’; after weeks of hypothesis, Jon Rahm confirmed that he had signed for LIV Golf in a deal understood to be value as much as £450m
Final Up to date: 18/12/23 6:52pm
Viktor Hovland is the newest participant to criticise the PGA Tour management
Viktor Hovland stated he fully understands why Jon Rahm signed with LIV Golf, however the world’s No 4-ranked participant would not plan to be the following marquee participant to bolt to the Saudi-backed league.
In an look on the “Fore” podcast in Norway, Hovland stated he doubts he would bolt for LIV, principally because of the league’s no-cut format.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged the large sum of cash Rahm signed for, reported to be greater than £450m together with contract and signing bonuses, whereas taking goal on the “arrogance” of the PGA Tour’s management.
“It would be a bit too silly to criticise the players for leaving. After all, you only hear one angle in the media, and there are quite a few different parts happening at the same time here,” Hovland stated in Norwegian as translated by Eurosport Norway, per Golfweek.
“I totally understand why he left. That’s a lot, a lot of money.”
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Butch Harmon believes Jon Rahm’s departure may enhance the urgency of the PGA Tour to type their Framework Settlement with LIV Golf
Hovland’s star standing has taken off in a 2023 throughout which he gained the FedExCup title in August and the £14.2m ($18m) bonus that got here with it.
He additionally gained the Memorial, the second leg of the playoffs on the BMW Championship and tied for second at each the PGA Championship and the DP World Championship.
It has been an immensely rewarding yr for Hovland on the course, however his earnings could be dwarfed by a possible supply from LIV. The 26-year-old asserted that the format nonetheless doesn’t enchantment to him.
“I don’t think their product is that great. I’m not such a fan of, for example, playing without a cut,” Hovland stated. “You need the competition with 150 players and a cut. If you don’t play well enough, you’re out.
“There’s something about it that makes your sport somewhat sharper. If I had gone to LIV, I do not suppose I’d have turn into a greater golfer. After which it’s, in a method, finish of dialogue.”
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Sky Sports News’ Jamie Weir explains what impact Jon Rahm’s move to LIV Golf means for the sport as a whole
Hovland has committed to the season-opening The Sentry in Maui, which is a no-cut event, along with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the WM Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational.
Rahm had similarly strong objections to LIV’s format before he signed with the league. He has been suspended from the PGA Tour, preventing the Spaniard from playing in The Sentry ahead of LIV’s first event of 2024.
Could Hovland take a similar path as Rahm in the near future?
“No, I doubt that,” he stated.
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Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland set a Ryder Cup record as they thrashed Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka with a 9&7 win on day two
Hovland was also the latest to provide a blunt criticism of the PGA Tour’s decision-makers.
There is a December 31 deadline for the tour to finalise a deal with the Public Investment Fund. The framework agreement that also includes the DP World Tour was announced in June, to the surprise of the tour’s membership that was not involved in the closed-door discussions.
The secrecy of those talks generated significant anger from many players.
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Viktor Hovland was in inspired form in his singles match against Collin Morikawa, winning 4&3 as Europe edged closer to regaining the Ryder Cup in Rome
“The administration has not executed a very good job. They virtually see the gamers as labour, and never as a part of the membership. In any case, we’re the PGA Tour. With out the gamers, there’s nothing,” he said.
“If you then get to see what occurs behind closed doorways, how the administration truly makes choices, which aren’t within the gamers’ greatest curiosity, however greatest for themselves and what they suppose is greatest.
“They are not professional golfers after all. They are businessmen who say that, ‘No, it should look like this and that.’ There is a great deal of arrogance behind it all.”
Tiger Woods has since joined the coverage board and is closely concerned within the ongoing discussions because the tour seeks funding for a brand new for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises. ESPN reported that greater than £2.37bn ($3bn) could be injected by Strategic Sports activities Group into the brand new entity.
