LIV Golf have set their sights on making Viktor Hovland their next mega-money signing, in their latest hunt to add some of the world's best players to their roster.
Heading into 2024, the breakaway league made arguably their biggest signing yet, after acquiring the services of former world No. 1 Jon Rahm for a reported £450 million. He was then followed by fellow European Tyrrell Hatton, who signed with Rahm's newly-formed team at the 11th hour ahead of LIV's opening event of the season in Mexico.
And it appears Greg Norman and co are now keen to add yet another big name to their players list, with the Guardian reporting that FedEx Cup champion Hovland is top their wish list.
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Like Rahm and Hatton, Hovland played a pivotal role in winning back the Ryder Cup for Team Europe last Autumn, as Luke Donald's team defeated their American rivals 16.5-11.5 at Marco Simone. Donald will now become the first skipper in over 30 years to captain back-to-back Ryder Cup teams, however his quest to win two-in-two could well hampered by the LIV setup.
The Europeans have already seen a number of their greatest names join the breakaway circuit and quit the DP World Tour, thus giving up their Ryder Cup eligibility. This caused no harm in Italy though, as a new wave of Europeans took over from the likes of Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter to lead a freshly-branded team to victory.
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However, with some of that new crop now pledging their allegiances to the LIV setup Donald could well be left scratching his head when it comes to team selection in 2025. As things stand, both Rahm and Hatton have kept hold of their DP World Tour memberships, but are subject to fines and suspensions for competing in LIV events.
The sanctions however could well hamper their Ryder Cup chances later down the line, with members required to play four events that season to keep hold of their Tour cards. Hovland for now of course remains a PGA Tour and DP World Tour player, having sounded off on a LIV Golf move at the end of 2023, but was critical of the PGA Tour's handling of the recent saga and commissioner Jay Monahan.
Speaking at last month's Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Norwegian also admitted he did miss playing alongside the likes of Rahm and Hatton each week. “I wouldn’t say I’m like super social out here, I kind of show up and do my thing,” he said. “But I certainly miss a lot of those guys that we had some great memories from Whistling Straits and in Rome, so certainly miss those guys, but wish them the best and hopefully I’ll get to see them soon.”