Someone Is Trying to Keep Viktor Hovland From Taking a Wild Shortcut at Riviera

Hovland’s unique strategy for Riviera’s the 15th hole will be a little bit more difficult to execute this year.

At last year’s Genesis Invitational, Viktor Hovland baffled golf viewers when he played his 15th tee shot down Riviera's 17th fairway during all four rounds of the tournament. This year, it appears that someone may be trying to redirect Hovland's creative route, but their efforts haven’t succeeded just yet. 

By playing up the 17th fairway, Hovland believes he can make the difficult tee shot on the tough par-4 a lot less demanding. It’s a dogleg right with a large bunker complex where the hole starts to turn. At 478 yards, the hole had an average score of 4.357 in last year’s Genesis. For Hovland, the unconventional line just fits his eye better. 

On Wednesday ahead of the 2023 Genesis, however, photos circulated of a new addition just off the 15th tee: A rather large leaderboard. The structure was placed directly along Hovland’s strategic line, and fans couldn’t help but wonder if tournament officials were trying to dissuade the Norwegian from bringing back the strange plan this year.

When Hovland reached the tee box on Thursday morning, however, it was as if the new obstruction didn’t exist. The Oklahoma State product set up on the far left side of the box and launched his driver over the leaderboard. 

Look at this line 👀

Viktor Hovland plays the 15th hole unconventionally aiming at the fairway on 17 @TheGenesisInv.

(Presented by @CDWCorp) pic.twitter.com/mwzx4599bP

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 16, 2023

“I played down 17 last year, and this year they put a screen up in the way,” Hovland said. “But it wasn’t high enough. So with the tee box all the way back, I could just kind of tee the ball up, take two club lengths, go back and hit a nice drive in the middle of the fairway on 17.”

“I had a pretty straightforward 9-iron in there and hit the green, so it was a very stress-free hole,” Hovland continued. 

Hovland might not get lucky with a back tee placement throughout his remaining rounds at Riviera, but on Thursday his unique strategy was just as doable as it was last year, despite some unforeseen changes. 

The method might seem counterintuitive, but a look at the data suggests that Hovland is taking a completely sensible approach to the challenging drive. 

Lots being made of Viktor Hovland's strategy on #15 today. Using TourIQ, golfers can actually understand that its a perfectly viable strategy.

About 2 dozen shots up 17 in previous years and most have a positive mean expected outcome pic.twitter.com/gDLCzUV8Cb

— TourIQ Golf (@tour_IQ) February 16, 2023

According to a compilation of five years of ShotLink data from Tour IQ, the large majority of shots that have ended up on the 17th hole at Riviera from the 15th tee have lead to positive outcomes. 

At the 2022 Genesis, Hovland finished tied for fourth, five shots behind the winner, Joaquin Niemann. This year, the 25-year-old could have the game and the course management skills to pull off a win at Riviera.