Hovland: Golf is 'just not that fun' when struggling

Viktor Hovland echoed a statement Tuesday that all weekend warriors can find relatable.

"It's just not that fun to play golf when you don't know where the ball is going," Hovland said ahead of this week's FedEx St. Jude Championship, per Golf.com's Nick Piastowski.

It's been a challenging season for Hovland, who ended 2023 as the World No. 4 but has since dropped down to No. 7. The lone bright spot was a third-place finish at the PGA Championship in May. He missed the cut in the other three majors and hasn't finished better than T15 aside from the strong showing at Valhalla.

"Hasn't been my best year," Hovland said. "Struggled for basically the whole year. It's been a little bit challenging."

The 26-year-old Norwegian is coming off a T30 finish at the Olympics, though he did finish strong with rounds of 67 and 68. He isn't optimistic that he's on the cusp of turning a corner, though.

"I just made a few putts," he said. "I missed on the right sides, and I was able to score well. The first couple rounds (shooting 70 and 75), I about hit it the same, but that golf course is very penal off the tee and into the greens. It really penalizes the bad shots."

Hovland will need to find his game fast if he's to have any chance of defending his FedEx Cup title. Currently ranked 57th in this year's playoff standings, he'll need to move inside the top 50 to qualify for the BMW Championship and the top 30 to make the TOUR Championship at East Lake.