Injury Forces Viktor Hovland to Sit Out '24 Season: Report

Viktor Hovland will not participate in any further tournaments in 2024 as the 8th ranked golfer in the world recovers from an undisclosed injury, according to Bunkered.co.uk.

Hovland, who is 27 years old, withdrew from the BMW PGA Championship last month and will not compete in the remaining events on the DP World Tour. Despite only playing in two DP World Tour events, bunkered also reported that a spokesperson confirmed Hovland's eligibility for next year's Ryder Cup due to the medical reasons preventing him from meeting the four-event requirement.

However, this undisclosed injury marks the end of a disappointing year for Hovland on the course. He began 2024 ranked fourth in the world after winning the FedEx Cup championship and finishing 2023 with five consecutive top-10 finishes worldwide.

However, he decided to make changes to his swing, resulting in inconsistent performances during the first half of the year. After a T22 finish at The Sentry in January, Hovland only managed one top-20 finish in his next six starts, including a missed cut at the Masters. He also withdrew from multiple events, citing the need to work on his swing at home rather than struggle on the course during competitions.

The Norwegian was in contention late on Sunday at the PGA Championship before ultimately finishing in third place. Following that, he had more inconsistent results, with a T15 finish at the Memorial being his best result in a six-event stretch that included missing the cut at the U.S. Open.

Hovland did begin his FedEx Cup defense with a T2 finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

"It has been a rollercoaster ride. It's just not enjoyable to play golf when you have no idea where the ball is going," Hovland said before the BMW.

"I take pride in trying to make the best of it, but there comes a point where you lose that belief - you just see a shot, and that's not good enough. I can try my hardest, I can try to chip in from there. But if I do that too often during a round or tournament, it's too much to overcome.

"And I feel like it's a waste of time for me to be playing golf if that's where I'm at. I'd rather be off the course and working on it, trying to figure out why I'm making those mistakes."

Hovland went on to finish T26 at the BMW and T12 at the Tour Championship, which may be his final competitive round of 2024.