It was hard to tell that Viktor Hovland had just won the Valspar Championship. Sure, the trademark broad grin that has endeared him to PGA Tour fans was back as he walked off the course, but in his post-match interview, he sounded almost baffled by how he’d managed to pull it off—perhaps the most surprised person in the room.
As is tradition, any golfer who wins with the Masters on the horizon is immediately asked about their chances of slipping on the green jacket. Hovland, however, wasted no time in downplaying his prospects, telling reporters that his game wasn’t where it needed to be for Augusta National—while still clutching the Valspar Championship trophy.
Can Hovland Win the Masters?
Yes, Hovland has a disarming self-deprecating humour, but his pessimistic assessment isn’t far off from what you’ll see if you’re betting on sports this spring. Although he won the Valspar Championship, the bookmakers don’t see a Masters win for him on the cards this year.
Currently, the latest golf betting markets price the Norwegian at a speculative 33/1 to win the Masters. It might happen, but probably won’t is the takeaway. Instead, Scottie Scheffler is the bookies favourite at odds of 9/2, with Rory McIlroy second at 6/1.
Although you can be sure plenty of fans will be backing the 27-year-old to win the Masters, his victory at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook was a reminder that, with the 2025 version of Hovland, you never quite know what to expect.
A Week is a Long Time in Golf
Just a week earlier, the Norwegian had shot an 80 at The Players Championship, missed the cut, and almost withdrew from the Valspar Championship altogether. It was only a midweek swing fix with his coach, Grant Waite, that convinced him to honour his commitment at Innisbrook.
The rest, as they say, is history. But Hovland’s constant tinkering with his swing—and his habit of parting ways with the very coaches who have brought him success—has left him scrambling for answers. His dismissal of Joe Mayo, the coach who guided him to his Tour Championship win and a £14 million payday, is a case in point.
Heading into the Valspar, Hovland hadn’t made a single cut in 2025 and, by his own admission, no longer knew how to fix his swing. As a result, journalists couldn’t help but ask whether he regretted all the changes.
It wasn’t the first time Hovland had faced this question, and by now, you get the sense that it irks him. The Norwegian was quick to push back, insisting that professional golfers should spend every waking moment trying to improve—because that’s what they’re paid to do.
It’s a valid point. But how much improvement do you really need when you’re already sitting at the summit of the PGA Tour, as Hovland was at the end of 2023?
Perhaps the answer will only become clear once he retires. If he’s won a handful of majors by then, the debate may fade. But there will always be that lingering question—how many more could he have won if he had simply stuck with what made him successful?
The only certainty is that Viktor Hovland refuses to settle for being merely good, which he believes is the obstacle to true greatness. That relentless pursuit might lead to his downfall, or it might just land him a green jacket at Augusta.
