There’s nothing like returning to an old spark to rekindle the flame.
Viktor Hovland has returned to old coach Joe Mayo to resurrect his slumping game.
The Norwegian confirmed yesterday that he is once again working with his swing coach having parted ways late last year after winning the FedEx Cup and helping Europe to Ryder Cup victory in Rome.
It’s the latest chapter in a long history of player coach relationships for Hovland who has worked with more than half a dozen coaches since turn gin professional, including three in the last few months.
Stints with Grant Waite and Dana Dahlquist have proven ineffective with a best finish of T19 in 2024 so can Mayo rekindle the flame in Hovland?
“Just reached out and was wondering if he could take a look at my golf swing, and let’s get back to work,” said the 2023 PGA Championship runner-up.
“Yeah, he knows my swing really well. He’s really, really smart, and just has a way of looking at my swing and kind of knowing what it is right away.
“Felt like I got some really good answers, was able to apply some of the feels right away, and I saw improvement right away. Yeah, it’s easy to keep going then.”
Hovland and Mayo only began working together again last week but it looks like it was just in the nick of time after a first round 68 in Valhalla.
“Just been struggling with my driver a little bit. I thought I’d hit my irons really, really nice behind those sessions.
“Every time I go there, I feel like I have a purpose. If there is something that I need to kind of grind in a certain feel, then I’m going to do that. But if I feel like things are good and I’m just wasting energy to be out on the range, I’m not going to go out to the range.
That’s what’s crazy with this game. There’s always something to kind of work on.
“I wouldn’t say I found something. But some of the feels that Joe told me, just from the last couple of days, just tried to kind of exaggerate them a little bit. Because it’s easy — you do it in practice, and it feels better, but then out on the course, you kind of revert back to some old stuff.
“It was just kind of reiterating the same stuff, and just kind of try to get on the other side because then the next day at least you’re getting closer.”