Viktor Hovland has decided to withdraw from the Waste Management Phoenix Open after a poor performance at Pebble Beach.
He finished tied for 55th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with an even-par 72 in the second and third rounds. He shot a 3-under 69 on the first day at Spyglass Hill, finishing 14 strokes behind winner Windham Clark.
The reigning FedEx Cup champion ranked 78th out of 80 in strokes gained approaching the green and struggled with irons and wedges. He was also 73rd in strokes gained around the green.
Hovland knew this, a week off, according to Marius Thorp of Eurosport Norge Golf, recover and practice. The Norwegian will compete in Florida before returning to competition at the season’s third marquee event, the Genesis Invitational.
Hovland will be replaced by France’s Victor Perez.
Shortly after this news surfaced, it was revealed that Xander Schauffele, who is fifth in the Official World Golf Rankings (one spot higher than Hovland), was also dropped from the field.
Still, the 2024 Waste Management Phoenix Open will feature five of the top 10 players in the world.
- Scotty Scheffler
- Wyndham Clark
- Max Homa
- matt fitzpatrick
- brian herman
Always one of the most exciting tournaments of the year, this week’s event will also feature a number of individuals who participated in last year’s Ryder Cup at Rome’s Marco Simone Golf Club.
- jordan spies
- Justin Thomas
- sam burns
- Rickie Fowler
- Shane Lowry
- luke donald
- zach johnson
In addition to that, many other major champions are scheduled to play at TPC Scottsdale this week.
- Hideki Matsuyama
- adam scott
- stewart sink
- lucas glover
- gary woodland
So despite the departures of Hovland and Schauffele, golf fans will still see a full field in the desert.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
