Viktor Hovland is at TPC Scottsdale to play in the WM Phoenix Open, which will be his 2026 PGA Tour season debut. The Norwegian started the year in Dubai, playing in the DP World Tour’s Hero Desert Classic, where he finished tied for 14th.
Naturally, despite being on the other side of the Atlantic, recent events on the PGA Tour have not escaped his attention. Brooks Koepka’s return to the American-based circuit and the possibility of other former LIV stars following suit in the near future have been met with mixed feelings by Hovland.
Viktor Hovland Highlights the Contradiction
GettyViktor Hovland drew attention to how the PGA Tour handled the Brooks Koepka case.
Speaking at a press conference from the WM Phoenix Open venue on Tuesday, Hovland highlighted the way the PGA Tour handled the Koepka situation:
“It does kind of put the Tour in a tricky position now,” he said. “You’ve said one thing for a long time, and now we’re changing things. What precedent are you setting then to the future players now if I can go to a rival tour, get paid, and now seemingly come back again without the biggest consequences?”
In the context of the inception of LIV Golf, the PGA Tour instituted a rule that bans for one year any player who plays in the Saudi-backed league. This rule had been applied to the fullest until now, facing significant criticism in the golf world for being applied to non-PGA Tour members.
However, when the time to decide on Koepka arrived, the Tour created the Returning Member Program , a path that, in practice, allowed the ban rule to be temporarily circumvented.
The Positive in the Comeback
Despite expressing concern about the scope and significance of the PGA Tour’s decision, Hovland also spoke positively about the return of players. He emphasized Koepka and Patrick Reed, the two most visible faces of the group of former LIV players seeking their way back to the PGA Tour.
“I enjoy playing against those guys,” Hovland said. “I think obviously Patrick Reed, being a major champion and great player, and Brooks, a five-time major champion, that’s a great addition to the PGA Tour. They’re great players, and I want to compete against the greatest players out there.”
Koepka has already made his return to the PGA Tour by playing in the Farmers Insurance Open and will share the course with Hovland at the WM Phoenix Open. Reed has also confirmed his interest in returning and will be eligible starting in August.
Other ex-LIV Golf players who have shown interest in returning to the PGA Tour system include Kevin Na and Pat Perez .
Hovland had a mixed bag of results in the 2025 PGA Tour season. He returned to the winner’s circle by taking the Valspar Championship title, but he had only two other top-10 finishes in 18 tournaments (he made 15 cuts).
He did not miss a single cut in the majors. His third-place finish at the US Open tied his best-ever result in events of this category (he had previously achieved this at the 2024 PGA Championship).
One of the highlights of his season was the Ryder Cup , where he earned 1.5 points in three matches, but had to miss his singles match against Harris English due to injury.
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