Defending Memorial Tournament champion Viktor Hovland had a disappointing start to the 2024 season, but he returned to Muirfield Village fresh off a strong showing at the PGA Championship, where he defeated Denny McCarthy in a playoff.
His success here last year rocketed him up the FedEx Cup rankings, and Hovland’s form has continued since, winning the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship in back-to-back weeks in August.
But the former Oklahoma State Cowboy knows last year’s results mean nothing.
“This golf course doesn’t care about your memories or good vibes,” Hovland said.
“If you make a mistake on the wrong side you’re punished and you go down. This is one of the most difficult courses all year so you’ve got to be at your best whether you’re the defending champion or not.”
The average score at last year’s Memorial Tournament was 74.9, nearly three strokes over par, and since Jack Nicklaus likes to test the best players on his course, we expect the average score to hover around that same level this year.
Just like in 2023, Hovland is riding high this week, having last raced at Valhalla where he finished third on his own.
Prior to that top-five finish, Hovlan missed the cut at the Masters, and his best result was a tie for 19th at the Genesis Invitational.
Hovlan, a six-time PGA Tour winner who went from being one of the best players in the world to struggling to make the cut, and Hovlan and coach Joe Mayo parted ways before the season opener at Sentry. From January through May, Hovlan hired three different swing coaches.
Prior to Valhalla, Hovlan went to Las Vegas to begin working with Mayo again. Hovlan saw immediate results at the PGA Championship and appeared to be back to his old self.
Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
“I was really proud of the week. I haven’t played very good golf the first few months of the year so it was nice to turn it around,” he said.
“Once I knew where the ball was going and I found a shot that would get me around the golf course, I was in contention to win right away. It was nice to know it wasn’t going to be a two- or three-month project. It was just a nice little feeling to be able to hit the ball well right away.”
In the first two rounds, Hovland will face 2024 PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele. They will begin the first round at 10:20 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a Golf Staff Writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Instagram: @savannah_leigh_sports
