As announcements go, the game of golf has never been hit by anything quite so big, one that has rocked the sport and caused much surprise and controversy.
We are, of course, talking about Viktor Hovland, the DP World Tour’s Golfer of the Month for May – a decision that has sparked a debate about who should have taken this accolade.
Hovland is in a rich vein of form. The Norwegian came very close to a maiden Major Championship title at this year’s Masters in April, and he managed to maintain his performance levels into May.
He came tied second at the PGA Championship, where he was the only player in the field without a round over par, which is some effort at the notoriously difficult Oak Hill Country Club.
Of course, this was a hugely impressive achievement in the standout event of the month. However, it is worth pointing out that this was his only appearance in May in an event with Race To Dubai (R2D) ranking points available. In fact, Hovland has only played in three events this year with R2D points available; the WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play, the Masters and now the PGA Championship.
Viktor Hovland voted May's Golfer of the Month 🇳🇴🏆#GolferOfTheMonth | @DPWorldJune 7, 2023
Hovland's eye-catching PGA performance gained him 48% of the votes in the DP World Tour’s Twitter poll, with Adrian Meronk gaining 36%, after winning the Italian Open and Pablo Larrazabal earning 13% off the back of triumph at the KLM Open.
Tough to win the golfer of the month now a days… we will keep working hard for it.. https://t.co/vu1WIqD0znJune 7, 2023
Golf fans were quick to have their say on Twitter, as were some of the players, including Larrazabal himself. “Tough to win the golfer of the month now a days… we will keep working hard for it,” he tweeted.
Agree , agree and agree !!! @DPWorldTour https://t.co/coMacTDdK3June 8, 2023
“As much as I like Viktor Hovland as a player, naming him player of the month is a lack of respect of as great magnitude over @plarrazabal. You should start considering more ur own players and not let the sparks of the pga superstars dazzle you so much. Shame on you @DPWorldTour,” said Alejandro Larrazabal Corominas, a comment that Romain Langasque replied to with, “Agree, agree and agree!!! @DPWorldTour.
Perhaps Larrazabal supporters felt that the result wasn't fair because prior to his KLM Open success, he also won the Korea Championship – although this did come at the end of April.
And maybe those late to offer their opinion will feel that the vote has been affected by Hovland's win at the Memorial Tournament. That, though, came in June, and is a PGA Tour, not DP World Tour, event.
Of course, there will be those who argue that Hovland's Oak Hill performance came on the Major stage. That said, maybe Major Championships should not come into the equation, only regular DP World Tour events.
