Viktor Hovland is not usually an anti-directional character. He always has a smile on his face and tries to keep his comments short and sweet.
The day before the 50th Players Championship, he opened up a little. Hovland questioned how PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has responded since the landmark June 6 announcement was made.
“Sometimes things that were said have been retracted, and sometimes things have been very contradictory,” Hovland said Wednesday of the PGA Tour’s leadership.
“As a leader of an organization, I want people to have some sense of responsibility and say, ‘We made some mistakes, and this is how we’re going to make them right.’ “It felt like it was done to some degree, rather than cover it up,” he said. “I don’t care if people make mistakes. We all make mistakes. When we make a mistake, we have to admit it…”
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time Hovland has criticized the PGA Tour’s leadership, having previously spoken out in December.
Photo by Mike Ehrman/Getty Images
He did not claim to know everything about what happened and admitted that he could have tried harder to understand it. But his focus is on golf and he will still allow the leaders to lead.
“I believe that the players at PAC will represent our players in the best way possible. I have been in contact with players who can fill that role,” Hovland said. “…So, I’m trying to go out there a little bit and play my game because, yeah, I trust the guys on the board to do their thing to some degree.”
The 26-year-old is just one of many PGA Tour golfers who feel the commissioner does not have the players’ best intentions in mind.
Xander Schauffele also went on the record this week with questions for the commissioner.
Lucas Glover slammed the PGA Tour last week over its signature event structure, calling it “selfish” and a “money grab.”
Hovland, Schauffele, Glover, and many other companies are choosing to hold their executives accountable by speaking up.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
