Viktor Hovland’s statistics show one main weakness

Viktor Hovland is one of Europe’s top young talents, but according to his Strokes-Gained stats, one key part of his game is letting him down. 

The Norwegian’s Strokes-Gained Around-the-green stats show that he is losing shots to his fellow pros around the putting surface, despite still being in the top-10 for total Strokes-Gained on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. This statistic includes Hovland’s pitching, chipping and bunker play, but not his putting. 

The world No. 6 has been one of the form golfers over the last year, winning four times since the start of 2021. However, this stat might show that if the 24-year-old hopes to take his game to the next level, this is where he has the most to gain.

Hovland is ranked 355th out of the 410 players measured in the Strokes-Gained Around-the-green statistic, yet is still in the top-10 for overall Strokes-Gained. However, he makes up for that in his long game, where he ranks in the top-five in driving and approach play. 

In last year’s Ryder Cup, Hovland was one of only two Europeans to play all five sessions, where he halved two matches.