On a personal note, Viktor Hovland says he thought three words when he heard 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 on with my day,” he said.
“I have to do things, figure things out, so that’s about the amount of calories I spend responding to those kinds of things.”
Still, the seven-time Tour winner said Tuesday he could understand the moves that allowed Koepka and Reed to return. The players are without a doubt great, he said. But during a press conference ahead of this week’s WM Phoenix Open, Hovland wondered whether other Tour pros would transfer to LIV and then be allowed to return “without major consequences.”
“Then what precedent are you setting?” he asked.
These thoughts followed last month’s announcements that Koepka and Reed will return to the PGA Tour after four seasons with LIV, although 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 in the past four years, and his punishment included making a $5 million charitable donation and not receiving access to the Tour’s equity program for five years nor a bonus program until 2026. Reed, meanwhile, will serve a one-year suspension that began after LIV’s final event last season, meaning he would be eligible to return return on August 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 following the announcements, several pros have been asked for their opinions, as Hovland was on Tuesday.
“I mean, just from my personal standpoint, I would say I enjoy playing against those guys,” he said. “Obviously I think Patrick Reed is a major champion and a great player and Brooks is 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 best players out there.
“I think it only makes the products and the pitches better. However, it now puts the Tour in a difficult position. You’ve said one thing for a long time and now we’re changing things. What precedent are you setting for future players if I can go to a rival tour, get paid and now come back apparently without major consequences.”
“I honestly don’t really have an opinion about that. That’s something the Tour has to figure out. I’m sure a lot of people won’t be super happy about that, but at the end of the day I just want to compete against the best players in the world.”
“I’m at a place where I have to figure things out in my own game, and that’s kind of what I’m focusing on. I don’t really want to focus on what the Tour should be doing right now.”
Particularly in a story written two years ago by Tom Kershaw of the TelegraphHovland said he told his agent to explore a deal to join LIV, but he ultimately stayed with the Tour. “Ultimately the question is, ‘What is going to make me a better player?’” Hovland said of Kershaw’s story. “And hey, if I’m at the end of my career in 20 years, playing LIV Golf wouldn’t be that bad. It might have been a pretty cool opportunity, but right now it’s something I’ll probably look back on and regret.”
On Tuesday, Hovland was asked if Koepka and Reed’s moves made him reconsider “the decisions” he’s made in his career.
“Not really,” he said.
“I just see the news and I think, oh, that’s interesting, and then I just go on with my day.”
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