Viktor Hovland blasts PGA Tour leadership as LIV deadline nears

Viktor Hovland quelled rumors he was going to follow Jon Rahm to LIV Golf on Monday but had choice words for PGA Tour leadership.

Hovland said recently on the "Fore" podcast he couldn’t fault players like Rahm for leaving for LIV Golf, citing the hundreds of millions of dollars players are reportedly receiving to play in the Saudi-backed series. He did express his dismay at the no-cut policy the league has, saying he didn’t think he would become a better golfer if the PGA Tour had the same rules.

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The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have a Dec. 31 deadline to finalize an agreement on a landmark merger. But Hovland took issue with the secrecy around the talks to come to a deal.

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"The management has not done a good job. They almost see the players as labor, and not as part of the members. After all, we are the PGA Tour. Without the players, there is nothing," he said, via Golfweek. "When you then get to see what happens behind closed doors, how the management actually makes decisions, which are not in the players' best interest, but best for themselves and what they think is best.

"They are not professional golfers after all. They are businessmen who say that 'No, it should look like this and that.' There is a great deal of arrogance behind it all."

Hovland has six PGA Tour wins in his career. He finished tied for seventh at the Masters and tied for second at the PGA Championship in 2023.