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Viktor Hovland has had a tumultuous 2024.
As a superstar in 2023, he won three championships on the PGA Tour, including the Tour Championship, and shined in the European Ryder Cup, but he changed coaches at the end of the season and it did not go well. .
In fact, he failed to finish in the top 15 in his first seven starts in 2024 and returned to his old coach before the PGA Championship.
He quickly finished third, but although he finished second at the end of the summer, it wasn't a year to remember for the Norwegian.
So the new year offers him the chance to hit the reset button, and despite breaking his little toe in a bedroom accident over the holidays, he's already announcing a return to his old ways in the season opener in Hawaii.
Viktor Hovland returns to double pump. pic.twitter.com/FrDiLwNCiy
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 4, 2025
In the second round at the Sentinel, Hovland took aim at the 306-yard par-4 green and stunned TV viewers and commentators with a fake backswing that left him stalling at the top of his backswing. Come down, fake the downswing, and then deliver the real thing a second time.
“We haven't seen anything like this in three seasons,” the announcer gasped as the ball bounced onto the putting surface, and the Oslo-born player made a 17-foot eagle putt minutes later. He pushed the ball out.
On X, the PGA Tour replayed a video from 2019 in which then-rookie Hovland explained why he sometimes uses the move.
“My normal driver swing creates a little chip,” he explained, before going on to explain why he sometimes takes different options.
“If I had a hole, it would be a dog leg,” he said. “Either I need to at least have a feel for hitting it from right to left, or if it’s a long par 5 that’s super wide, I’ll bring out the double pump.”
What's the reason? “I hit it a little further.”
In fact: “My strike would be 15 yards farther and not too far off line, so I figured why not?”
What driver does Hovland use during his normal swing and fake pump?
His weapon of choice on the tee is the PING G425 LST driver with the following specs: @8.5 (flat standard), 45.75 inches, Fujikura Speeder TR 661-TX, 1 inch tip, D5+, neutral setting 14g CG shifter , Golf Pride composite black/blue 60R +1 package.
Read more: 2025 First Look – What Do We Know About the New Ping G440 Driver?
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