Viktor Hovland didn’t have the best time at Riviera Golf Club this year. The Norwegian pro nearly missed the cut as he finished on even par on Friday to narrowly make the weekend rounds. His performance over the last 36 holes didn’t improve much as he was struggling to score birdies regularly. And after the tournament ended, he was seen crouching on the green, disappointed with his performance.

A Hovland fan shared a picture of the same on X, “Viktor deep in contemplation #hatlesshovi @hovihead.”

Hovland was seen scratching his head with one hand as he was looking at his golf ball. It was evident that he was upset that he couldn’t perform better than he did. After 72 holes, the 28-year-old could only manage a T41 finish in the $20 million 2026 Genesis Invitational. This was his worst finish in the Signature event when he had played the weekend rounds. He missed the cut in the tournament when it shifted to Torrey Pines last season, as the course presented surprising challenges.

That said, last season’s missed cut was still understandable. A T41 this year cannot be excused, especially after the start Hovland has had this year. He kicked off the 2026 PGA Tour season with a T10 finish in the WM Phoenix Open. The 7-time PGA Tour champion also had a T14 finish in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic back in January 2026.

Speaking about his performance, Hovland’s biggest struggle at Riviera Golf Club was with his driver. As surprising as it is, he could not reach the distance he is known to deliver off the tee usually. His tournament average was about 10 yards shorter than what he managed all of 2025.

It might have something to do with his confidence. A few weeks ago, Hovland had confessed, “I really would like to be able to stand on the tee box and swing hard and know that the ball is going to go fairly straight.” Maybe he wasn’t as confident to hit hard and find the fairway.

That said, slowing down did help him find the short grass regularly. But that’s not the only problem he faced at Riviera Golf Course.

Viktor Hovland might need to put some work into putting

Sitting on the 18th green with his putter in his hand, staring at his golf ball is the perfect representation of everything that went wrong for Viktor Hovland at Riviera Golf Club. The 28-year-old didn’t have the best time on the green in the Signature event.

He was finding the greens in regulation perfectly, with an average rate of nearly 70%. That’s pretty good across a 72-hole tournament. However, once he did land on the green, Hovland was not able to deliver the killer blow in time.

He needed 1.90 putts per GIR to finish the hole, ranking 51st in the entire tournament for that stat. Hovland’s approach shots were also not landing that close to the cup. On average, he needed to cover 62′ 4″ every round to complete the 18 holes.

These alarming stats explain why Hovland scored only 13 birdies while managing 10 bogeys and 49 pars in the event. Had his finishing been better, Viktor Hovland would have certainly ended the 2026 Genesis Invitational at a much higher position than T41.