Sports

Viktor Hovland and the case for perfectionism

Published

8 months ago

March 24, 2025

Viktor Hovland and the case for perfectionism

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — There was Viktor Hovland, moments after winning his first PGA Tour championship in 18 months, after storming back from three shots down with five to play to beat a top-10 player in the world for the Valspar Championship.

If there was a moment to declare himself back, to say that every swing fix and coaching change he has put himself through since the 2023 Ryder Cup was absolutely worth it because here he is with the trophy next to him, this was it.

But as much as it was clear that Hovland, the 27-year-old Norwegian flashing that easy smile, was happy, I had to ask him, “How happy are you with your swing right now?”

“Yeah, it’s still not great,” Hovland said. “… The club is just not in a great place for me coming down. It’s just not what it used to be. So I can’t really rely on my old feels anymore because the club is in a different spot and I have to change my release pattern to make that work.”

OK, well, it did work. Results over process, right? Hovland just played four straight rounds under par at the Copperhead Course, including a Sunday 67 with birdies on two difficult holes to edge Justin Thomas by a stroke. No, not so much.

“I think that is something that I’m extremely proud of that I can show up at a PGA Tour event at one of the hardest golf courses we play all year and still win with not my best stuff. … But at the same time, it makes this game a lot more stressful than I think it should be,” Hovland said.

Viktor Hovland, right, walks off the 18th tee with caddie Shay Knight. (Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)

This is, at its core, who Viktor Hovland is and why he believes he’s been able to go from a relatively minor golfing country like Norway to Oklahoma State to the PGA Tour and have as much success as he has. Sunday was his seventh PGA Tour win, including a Tour Championship, and he has three top-five finishes at the majors in the last three years.

It’s not enough to be good. It’s not enough to flirt with great. He’s striving for something here, and why is that a problem?

“I find it kind of weird that we’re professional athletes and the people that are wanting to improve are somewhat looked at, ‘Oh, he’s a perfectionist, he’s out on the perimeter searching too much.’ It’s like, that’s what we do; we are here to get better, and we are here to win tournaments. So if you’re not going to try to get better, what are you doing?” Hovland said.

There’s something to be admired there. The not-so-secret truth of the PGA Tour is that the money is good enough that you don’t have to win to set up yourself and your family nicely. And for years the tour has operated in a way that if you kept your card for a few years, it was hard to lose it, perpetuating a cycle of doing just enough to keep the checks coming. Good is, in fact, the enemy of great. Men’s professional golf is no different from any other industry in that way.

No one has been able to convince Hovland to join the murky middle, even his well-meaning mother, who makes it a habit to let Viktor, at his low moments, know that a lot of other people played poorly that day too. “It never consoles me,” he said.

This was the tournament week for Hovland, who had not made a cut in 2025 and was ejected from The Players Championship with a first-round 80: While committed to the Valspar, he spent Monday in Orlando working with swing coach Grant Waite, and they found something of a swing feel. Enough that Hovland figured he might as well drive over to Tampa Bay on Tuesday, playing a late practice round. Only after those nine holes did he make the final decision to play in the tournament, but with very little, if any, expectation of contending.

Then came a first-round 70, and a 67 the next day that had him one shot off the lead. “I don’t have control over what I’m doing,” Hovland said that day. Playing in the final group Saturday, Hovland shot a 69 and ended the day in a three-way tie for the lead. “Still feels like I’m saving a lot of shots, but they’re going fairly straight, so it’s OK,” Hovland said.

Viktor Hovland leaned on his irons during the Valspar Championship. (Brennan Asplen / Getty Images)

Sunday was a stress test, then. Could Hovland manage his game, play into that swing feel and find a way to win? The answer was a testament to his work. Hovland not only avoided his biggest problem right now — a “big push fade” — on No. 16, where water runs the length of the fairway, but he also hit maybe the shot of the tournament, an approach from 187 yards out to less than 6 feet. With a birdie putt there and another on No. 17, Hovland had a two-shot cushion, enough to bogey 18 and still win.

Now the work begins again with Waite, one of the swing coaches Hovland hired and fired over the last 18 months, bringing him back this month in part because Waite is an information guy and Hovland wants all the information. All the data. Don’t hide from the problem. Lean into it and come back out the other side. Hopefully.

You win this time of year on the PGA Tour and it’s only so long until the questions inevitably come around to the Masters. There are 18 days until the first round, and Hovland believes what he did to win this week — taming tight fairways with accurate iron shots and a good week putting — will not have the same effect at Augusta National, an entirely different test of golf. That is his reality as he sees it, though Hovland sprinkled in some positive self-talk.

“I still need to be honest so I can attack the problems that I have and we can improve, but at the same time, I got to give myself some credit. And even no matter how bad it feels or how many poor shots I’m hitting, I’m still capable of shooting good scores with it. So I kind of have to keep that in the back of my head,” Hovland said.

So, is Viktor Hovland back? Yes. Just don’t ask him to confirm it.

(Top photo: Brennan Asplen / Getty Images)

Sports

UAB players take field hours after stabbing incident leaves two hospitalized

Published

12 hours ago

November 23, 2025

Press Room

UAB players take field hours after stabbing incident leaves two hospitalized

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

University of Alabama at Birmingham football players took the field in Birmingham, Alabama, Saturday just hours after tragedy struck.

Two players from UAB were allegedly stabbed by a teammate at the team’s training center ahead of a game against South Florida, a university official confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Both were reported to be in stable condition at a hospital. The names of the victims and the player in custody were not released.

Saturday’s game kicked off at 3 p.m. ET, and USF cruised to a 48-18 victory.

Two UAB football players were stabbed hours before their game Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. (Wes Hale/Getty Images)

An online inmate inquiry from the Jefferson County Jail showed that Daniel Israel Mincey, 20, was arrested by the UAB Campus Police just after noon Saturday and is facing charges of “aggravated assault — A to M — attempted murder.” The university would not confirm whether Mincey was a player involved.

MAN WHO SHOT AND KILLED UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOOTBALL PLAYERS SENTENCED TO 5 LIFE TERMS

Mincey is a redshirt freshman who joined the team after one season at Kentucky, according to the UAB football roster.

The two players were attacked Saturday morning at the Football Operations Center, the training center for the Blazers’ football program. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

There appeared to be concerns about whether the game would proceed as scheduled given the incident, but a spokesperson confirmed that the university elected to play.

“We’re grateful to report that two players injured in an incident this morning at the Football Operations Building are in stable condition. Our thoughts are with them and their families as they recover. The suspect — another player — remains in custody, and an investigation is taking place,” a spokesperson said.

USF quarterback Byrum Brown threw for 353 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in the blowout win. UAB held a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but USF scored 27 unanswered points.

A South Florida Bulls helmet near the sideline during a game between the South Florida Bulls and the Miami Hurricanes Sept. 13, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The highlight of Brown’s day was a 60-yard touchdown pass to Mudia Reuben, which gave USF a 24-10 lead on the first play of the third quarter. Nykahi Davenport added 117 rushing yards and a touchdown run for USF.

UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna had 230 passing yards but was also responsible for three costly interceptions.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Sports

UCLA loses in blowout to Washington in possible Rose Bowl swan song for Bruins

Published

13 hours ago

November 23, 2025

Press Room

UCLA loses in blowout to Washington in possible Rose Bowl swan song for Bruins

Somebody should check with SoFi Stadium to see if it rescinded its offer.

In what could have been UCLA’s last game at the Rose Bowl after 43 years of calling the place home, the Bruins unfurled the kind of showing that no one would ever want to relive or put in a scrapbook.

If this was goodbye, it was a sad sendoff.

There were lost fumbles, a laughably bad fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown for the other team and a dropped pass that probably cost UCLA its own score. And that was just in the first half.

Adding injury to insult, UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava took a crunching hit that sidelined him late in the third quarter, ending his gritty return from a concussion that had forced him to miss his team’s last game.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava passes in the first half against Washington on Saturday night.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

There’s mercifully only one game left for the Bruins this season after a 48-14 loss to Washington on Saturday night led to a fast-emptying stadium, no fond farewells in store for the home fans amid an announced crowd of 38,201 that was too depleted by game’s end to boo.

The site of UCLA’s next home game remains as big of an unknown as its next head coach. School officials have said they are still contemplating plans for where the team will play in the future, though that decision could be up to a court to decide given the Bruins have nearly two decades left on a Rose Bowl lease that doesn’t expire until the summer of 2044.

It’s believed that if school officials have their way, they will move to SoFi Stadium in time for their 2026 season opener.

Wherever the Bruins play, they have a lot of improvements to make. They looked lethargic in falling behind by 34 points Saturday while making one mistake after another on the way to a fourth consecutive defeat.

By the time he entered the game, there was little backup quarterback Luke Duncan could do except make the final score slightly more palatable. He succeeded on that front, firing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Matthews late in the third quarter that helped UCLA (3-8 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) avoid a shutout.

There was another highlight for the Bruins early in the fourth quarter when Kanye Clark forced a fumble on Washington’s punt return, allowing Jamir Benjamin to pick up the ball and run 13 yards for a touchdown.

But make no mistake: This was complete domination by the Huskies (8-3, 5-3), who rolled up 426 yards of offense while holding the Bruins to 207 yards, including just 57 yards rushing.

Washington alumnus and comedian Joel McHale performed a short recorded bit that was shown on the scoreboard before the game, but the real slapstick was about to come.

The Bruins coughed up two fumbles in the first half and would have lost a third had the Huskies not been called for defensive holding on the play, nullifying the turnover.

UCLA quarterback Luke Duncan throws during the second half against Washington on Saturday.

UCLA wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala dropped what could have been a touchdown pass at the Huskies’ 38-yard line with nothing but open field in front of him.

But there was no blunder quite like what happened when the Bruins lined up for a 46-yard field goal late in the second quarter. Holder Cash Peterman took the snap and flipped the ball over his shoulder as kicker Mateen Bhaghani circled behind him, the ball hitting the turf instead of Bhaghani’s hands.

Washington’s Alex McLaughlin picked up the ball and ran 59 yards for a touchdown that put the Huskies ahead, 20-0. It was the second straight game UCLA was held scoreless in the first half.

Things never got appreciably better, the Bruins left adrift without a haven in sight.

Sports

LSU national champion Breiden Fehoko retires from NFL at 29

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

LSU national champion Breiden Fehoko retires from NFL at 29

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko, who won a national championship with LSU in 2020, announced his retirement on Friday at age 29.

Fehoko, who began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, made the announcement on Instagram.

Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko (96) reacts after the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Jan. 1, 2023. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

“Sometimes in life you just get a sense of fulfillment & for me it’s now. 29 years old and I couldn’t be happier with the journey of where this game has taken me,” his post read.

“To my family you guys never let me quit and more importantly never let me stop believing in myself. I’m thankful for every coach, teammate, trainer, opponent, agent, etc. because you guys made me a better version of myself every time I stepped on that football field.”

Fehoko played two seasons at Texas Tech before joining former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron in the SEC for two seasons, culminating in a national championship with the Tigers in 2020. He finished his collegiate career with 71 tackles and four sacks across 48 games.

Breiden Fehoko (96) of the Los Angeles Chargers tackles Derrick Henry (22) of the Tennessee Titans in the third quarter of the game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Dec. 18, 2022. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

A journeyman, Fehoko signed with the Chargers in 2020 after going undrafted that year. He made his NFL debut that season in a Week 12 game against the Buffalo Bills.

NFL STAR XAVIEN HOWARD ABRUPTLY RETIRES AFTER 4 GAMES WITH COLTS

Fehoko appeared in 19 games for the Chargers, registering 36 tackles across three seasons.

He signed with the Steelers in 2023, but never appeared in any games. He signed with the team in August but was later released before the start of the season.

Breiden Fehoko (96) of the Pittsburgh Steelers lines up during the second half of a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Aug. 24, 2023. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“I’m not a fan of long novels but I’m glad to say I’m retiring from this great sport of football,” Fehoko post read. “I’m so blessed to have a head start in life & I look forward to my next chapter with my family. I’ll miss the team dinners, bus rides, training camps, and everything in between. I won’t miss conditioning.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.