ORLANDO, Fla. — Golfer Viktor Hovland does not tweet, nor does he plan to join the Twitterverse even if could cash in.
“I spend too much time on my phone already just answering messages,” he said Wednesday at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.
Good thing anonymity suits Hovland, a 24-year-old with PGA Tour star potential.
Hovland is a five-time winner worldwide and ranked No. 4 in the world entering Thursday’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, yet still remains off the casual fan’s radar.
Hovland unsurprisingly did not make the top 10 of the inaugural Player Impact Program (PIP), based on a player’s Nielsen ratings, Google searches, MVP Index, Meltwater Mentions and Q-Rating — calculated by his appeal and social media popularity.
A little self-promotion might help the witty, eccentric Norwegian known for listening to heavy metal at ear-spliting levels.
Yet, Hovland suspects engaging on Twitter would be mind-numbing.
“I see it more as a distraction than what it’s doing to help me,” he said. “My main focus is just to play better golf, and that takes care of most things.”
Lately, Hovland has been taking care of business on the golf course and trails only No. 1 Jon Rahm among the 120-player API field in the world rankings.
Big things have been expected for some time from Hovland, a product of the golf factory at Oklahoma State University and 2018 winner of the prestigious U.S. Amateur.
Instead, contemporaries Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff, a former OSU teammate, overshadowed Hovland. A two-time major champion and world No. 2 Morikawa might be golf’s most consistent performer; Wolff, winner in 2019 at age 20, has faded because of injuries and struggles adjusting to Tour life.
A photo of Hovland walking to his hotel room last May at the PGA Championship, alone, golf clubs slung over his shoulder, portrayed the game’s solitary pursuit.
“I don’t see it as a burden,” Hovland said. “It was a cool picture. What I take most pride in is just kind of waking up, going through my routines. Then at the end of the day, ask myself, have I kind of done what I needed to do to get better?
“If the answer is yes, then I feel good about myself.”
With three worldwide wins since November, Hovland is feeling good about his golf.
Owner of one the strongest tee-to-green games, Hovland was hit-or-miss to kick off 2022, tying for 30th during the limited field Tournament of Champions and missing the cut in Phoenix. A tie for fourth during the Genesis Invitational at historic Riviera Country Club set the stage for a good week at demanding Bay Hill, where Hovland shot 77-78 during the weekend in 2021 to tie for 49th.
Even so, Hovland has fond memories of Palmer’s course.
Hovland knew little of Palmer until he was a college freshman invited to play for the European side during the 2017 Palmer Cup, a showcase event for top college golfers.
Last March, Hovland recalled Palmer’s longtime assistant, Doc Giffin, giving a behind-the-scenes tour of the club. Hovland tied for 40th as an amateur in 2018 and now will make his fourth start in the API.
“I had a great experience making the cut,” Hovland recalled. “Just felt like this was kind of the moment where I felt like I belonged a little bit or I got confidence enough to at least believe that I could play the PGA Tour.”
Hovland has since arrived and is not going anywhere. Some day everyone might notice.
“It would be nice to make the PIP,” he said. “But at the same time, I’m not going to go out of my way to try to make that a goal.”
