Hovland Returns to Coach Joe Mayo After T2 at East Lake

Viktor Hovland has returned to Joe Mayo, the coach who guided him through his 2023 peak, after finishing runner-up at the Tour Championship. Hovland led by one shot through 54 holes at East Lake before a final-round 72 dropped him to solo second at 13-under 267, still worth $5 million.

What happened in Hovland's final round?

Hovland opened with rounds of 64, 66 and 65 before closing with a 72 on Sunday, as Scottie Scheffler shot 66 to win the FedEx Cup. Two holes decided the gap: a bogey at the par-4 13th after finding a fairway bunker, and a wedge from 100 yards at the 17th that flew the green with no up-and-down. Hovland led the field in strokes gained putting for the week by more than six shots, which kept him near the top of the leaderboard while his ball-striking lagged behind it.

Why is Hovland going back to Joe Mayo?

Mayo coached Hovland during the 2023 season, when he won the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship in back-to-back weeks and climbed to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking. "I didn't feel like I was anywhere close to it," Hovland said of his ceiling after the final round, describing his swing as below his own standard even in a runner-up finish.

Hovland plans to play three DP World Tour events this fall before turning to deeper offseason work with Mayo. The runner-up finish was his best result of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and moves him into the offseason with a defined swing project rather than an open question.