Viktor Hovland lays into ‘comical’ LIV Golf and PGA Tour situation

Viktor Hovland has shared his thoughts LIV Golf and PGA Tour’s feud and potential merger, while chiming in on the sport’s obsession with money over the past few years

Viktor Hovland criticized golf’s emphasis on prize money as “a bit sad” amid the current situation of LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

Money has divided the sport in recent years, with many of the world’s top players leaving the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League and major tournaments such as the Ryder Cup being canceled. LIV golf stars such as Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and, most recently, Jon Rahm, have signed big contracts that the PGA Tour can’t match, with new alternative league players who aren’t on the rosters of big-name circuits.

However, while the PGA Tour is currently in merger talks with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which funds LIV Golf, several prominent sports stars want nothing to do with the latter. Hovland, who remains on the PGA Tour, has made no secret of his concerns about the PGA Tour and golf in general, not being a fan of how the sport has changed.

On the Butch’s Son podcast, he said: “It’s a little interesting to see what’s going on in the golf world, but I hope there’s a solution in the future because ultimately the best golf courses I just want to compete.” Play against the best players in the best tournaments. I don’t know how that happens, but that’s what I’d like to see.

A month ago, the PGA Tour signed a £2.37bn deal with Strategic Sports Group (SSG) and continued negotiations with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that funds LIV Golf. Since LIV Golf was launched in his 2022, financial competition has arisen between the new league and the PGA Tour, with prize money of over £17 million being received increasingly common. Hovland said: “Obviously, LIV brings a lot of money into the sport and there’s a lot of competition, and I think that’s a good thing. But it seems like that was a reaction from the PGA Tour. It’s just that, but I think it’s a little sad.”