Weekly PGA Recap: Hail to the Viktor

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.

If you would've seen Viktor Hovland play over his past three tournaments, and maybe even across the better part of a year, you'd have never thought he could win the Valspar Championship. And you know what? He would have agreed with you.

It was just last week that Hovland shot 80 at THE PLAYERS Championship en route to a third straight missed cut. He had fallen to No. 19 in the world, territory he hadn't traversed in in nearly five years. His odds at the start of the week were 80-1.

"I don't have control over what I'm doing," Hovland said Friday, even after making the cut at the Valspar.

Two days later, the 27-year-old Norwegian was hoisting a trophy.

Hovland overcame a three-stroke deficit to Justin Thomas over the final five holes at the difficult Copperhead course to win for the seventh time in his PGA tour career -- and for the first time in 19 months.

Asked by a reporter how he had won this tournament, amid all the strife related to swing changes and coaching changes and overall poor play over the past year-plus, Hovland said: "I've got no idea."

For one, he needed a lot of help from Thomas, who bogeyed Nos. 16 and 18 after birdieing 11, 12, 14 and 15 to emerge from a large pack of about a dozen golfers to grab a three-stroke lead. Hovland, meanwhile, birdied 14, 16 and 17 to wrap things up, surviving an 18th-hole bogey himself to win by one.

"I mean, if you would have asked me if I was going to win this week with what I had, I probably would have said no, so, but here we are."

Where we are is 2 ½ weeks till the Masters, which all of a sudden got a whole lot more interesting with a longstanding top-5 player becoming relevant again. (And another, Xander Schauffele, closed with a 66 to register his best showing since returning from injury, a tie for 12th.)

Hovland entered the week ranked around 170th in both Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and Putting, hideous numbers. Still, to be kind, those were not all that out of the ordinary for him even during his winning ways. But he also was ranked 98th and in both SG: Off-the-Tee and Tee-to-Green and 24th in Approach coming in, and those stats were not where they once were for him.

At the Valspar? Hovland ranked 19th in Off-the-Tee, sixth in Approach and -- get this -- second in Putting.  (As for Around-the-Green, still don't ask, which is a serious concern for Augusta.) 

The big question, of course, is: Which Hovland will we see next? He was asked about carrying "momentum" into the Masters.

"Definitely helps," said Hovland, who is now back in a more familiar area code at No. 8 in the world rankings. "Kind of goes back to what I'm saying about being hard on myself and being sure you could call it a perfectionist, it's like some of the shots that I'm hitting, it's going to make it really difficult for me to be in contention at Augusta if I don't rectify that problem, if I don't see the improvements there. It's just a different golf course.

"You're going to hit so many long irons into par-4s and you got to drive it pretty far because the fairways are pretty wide. It's more of a bomber's paradise versus this place. It's more just about being precise off the tee. So there's still some things that I need to improve, but luckily we got two weeks and this is certainly nice to kind of have in the back of my mind leading up to Augusta."

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Justin Thomas
This was a bad one for Thomas. He kicked it away. He said all the right things afterward – and even saying anything was more than what Collin Morikawa did two weeks ago after blowing the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After Thomas played amazingly for 15 holes – 7-under – he butchered drives badly on 16 and 18. It's almost as if the pressure got to him. Thomas' winless streak was/is even longer than Hovland's, now almost three years. On one hand, that doesn't bode well for Thomas' Masters chances. On the other, he now has two runners-up and two other top-10s already in 2025. We may not see Thomas again till Augusta, meaning his last memories on the course will be the Valspar meltdown.

Jacob Bridgeman
The 25-year-old Clemson alum now has his second podium finish in a month, with his solo third at the Valspar following his shared runner-up at the Cognizant. In between, he tied for 15th at Bay Hill. In other words, Bridgeman has a very good thing going. Yes, he shared the 54-hole lead, but there's no shame in finishing behind two of the world's best golfers. A rookie last year, Bridgeman finished 121st in the point standings, which would not be enough to keep his card under this year's new standards. Now, he's top-20 and seems certain of sticking around, if not winning even maybe before season's end.

Billy Horschel
This has not been a good start to 2025 for Horschel, despite a top-10 at Pebble Beach. At Copperhead, he tied for fourth, his best showing of the season. He began the week ranked outside the top-100 in every strokes-gained category but putting, in which he was No. 65. As of now, Horschel isn't entered in either Texas tournament leading up to the Masters.

Bud Cauley
Cauley was one of the feel-good stories of THE PLAYERS Championship, tying for sixth to meet the terms of his major medical extension and secure his card for the rest of the season. Now, he may be close to securing it for next year, too. Cauley closed with a 66 to zoom into a tie for fourth, moving him into 35th place in the point standings. He hadn't finished top-6 in consecutive weeks since 2012 (really). Is Cauley on a heater or has he become a new player, a decade after a car accident derailed his career? It's too soon to tell.

Ryo Hisatsune
The 22-year-old from Japan is in his second year on Tour. He tied for fourth at the Valspar to give him a second top-10 on the season – to go along with four missed cuts. Such is the nature of a very young player still finding his way, especially in a foreign country. Expect the hot and cold to continue this season. Hisatsune won on the DP World Tour in 2023, two weeks after turning 20. 

Davis Riley
Riley began the year WD-MC-MC-MC-MC. Not exactly letter-perfect. Since then, he's made four straight cuts with two top-10s, including solo seventh at the Valspar. The other one was at the Puerto Rico Open but still. Riley looks to keep the streak alive this week at the Houston Open.

Lucas Glover
Glover tied for third at THE PLAYERS and for eighth at the Valspar. He was also T3 at Pebble Beach. The 45-year-old has already played eight times this season. Even though Houston would be a good fit for his ball-striking game, Glover is taking the week off. He has already committed to the Valero Texas Open in two weeks and will be back at the Masters, as he's ranked No. 28 in the world.

Corey Conners
Conners had a ton of top-25s last season but not many top-10s – because he couldn't putt very well. Now, after a tie for eighth at the Valspar, he already has four top-10s in 2025 – because he's putting very, at least for him. Conners ranked 36th in putting in the Valspar field. The recent stretch has moved him to a career-best 23rd in the world rankings.  Like Glover, he's skipping Houston and will play at TPC San Antonio. Of course, that's where Connors has won his two PGA Tour titles.

Seamus Power
Power had meandered through 2025 with three missed cuts in six starts, though two of the cashes were top-25s. Now he has a top-10 (T8). His biggest issues have been fairway accuracy and putting, two things that don't fix themselves in one tournament – although he did rank ninth in driving accuracy and 16th in putting. So we shall see.

Shane Lowry
Not much more to say about Lowry than what we've been saying every week: He's fantastic in Florida. The Irishman completed the four-tournament swing T11-7-T20-T8. Overall, he has three top-10s and five top-25s in seven starts. He's sixth on Tour in sG: Approach and fourth in Tee-to-Green. Simply outstanding.

Xander Schauffele
Schauffele has looked rusty since returning from a rib injury that cost him two months. This tournament was his third one back and his best so far. He closed with a 66 to tie for 12th. Perhaps the most important takeaway for the world No. 3 is that he led the field in SG: Approach. We may not see Schauffele again till the Masters. He is not playing Houston and has yet to commit to San Antonio.

Tommy Fleetwood
Five starts in 2025, all Signature Events, and five top-25s. The latest was a tie for 16th. The narrative that Fleetwood is a top-10 player who cannot win a tournament on the PGA Tour is alive and well. He'll play next in two weeks at the Valero.

Michael Kim
Kim is desperately trying to get into the top 50 by next Sunday to qualify for the Masters. He began the week at No. 54, then tied for 28th at the Valero, so he didn't get there. Even if he did, he'd have to do well enough this week in Houston to stay there. Kim will be playing for the eighth straight week.

Jordan Spieth
Spieth had two rounds over par and two under par, finishing in a tie for 28th. He'll skip Houston but play San Antonio in advance of playing in the Masters.

Luke Clanton
Clanton has his Tour card awaiting come June. But the arrow that was pointing straight up when he first started getting sponsor invites has leveled off. The 21-year-old Florida State junior tied for 42nd at the Valspar. In his first four starts, he missed two cuts and had two top-20s. Still, pretty dang good for someone still technically an amateur.

Neal Shipley
Shipley is on the Korn Ferry Tour and he got a sponsor invite. He tied for 47th, bouncing back nicely from an opening 76 in his first PGA Tour start of the season. On the KF Tour, Shipley has a top-10 and a top-15 but also four missed cuts. So, the low amateur at last year's Masters who also came off looking great in the third season of Netflix's "Full Swing" is struggling to find his footing as a pro. He's only 24.

MISSED CUTS

Sam Burns, Cam Davis, Cameron Young, Adam Hadwin, Alex Smalley, Blades Brown. No real surprise, especially for Young, who has been horrible in 2025. Then again, so was Hovland till this week.