Viktor Hovland criticizes commissioner Monahan's leadership, calls for accountability and transparency - “You got to own up to it”

Viktor Hovland has been critical in the past of the PGA Tour's decision-making. Much of it stems from the pending merger with PIF. That came as a surprise and a disappointment to many golfers, and it's not something Hovland is sure of at this point.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has seen plenty of criticism levied his way, and Hovland has been at the forefront of some of it.

Hovland admitted via Deadspin that he didn't have all the answers. He's not in the know about everything, and he conceded that Monahan and his decision-making board likely had good reasons for everything they did.

Hovland believes that the players matter in this scenario, and that their leadership should be taken into account.

He added:

"I think there has to be some transparency between that to at least save some face and saying that, 'Hey, we represent the players and this is a membership organization or a players organization.' I think those two lines have to be reconciled a little bit better."

Hovland also said that the tour made some decisions that seemed to contradict their earlier statements. He believes they may have "walked back on" some of those. Hovland went on:

"As a leader of an organization, I will want a person like that to take some ownership and say, 'Hey, we made a couple of mistakes, but this is how we're going to rectify it' ... instead of kind of sweeping it under the rug, which I felt like has been done to a certain degree."

Viktor Hovland understands that everyone makes mistakes and that the PGA Tour is run by humans, but believes there's some accountability needed:

"I think when you make a mistake you got to own up to it and say, 'Hey, we're trying to do better here, and this is how we're going to do it.'"

Hovland, like many, has expressed displeasure in the past about the lack of certainty and the unclear direction the sport is taking right now.

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Rory McIlroy takes opposite stance to Viktor Hovland

Though it was never levied at Jay Monahan, much of LIV Golf's young tenure has been marked by stark opposition from Rory McIlroy. The Ryder Cup star was once one of the biggest detractors the tour had.

Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy disagree

He has since changed his tune, and it has led him to take the opposite stance of Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele and others. He believes that Monahan has overall done quite a job with the PGA Tour.

McIlroy cited the fact that Monahan guided the tour through COVID-19, and he earned them a nice media rights agreement. The tour just got a massive investment from Strategic Sports Group, so in the golfer's eyes, it's been more positive than negative with Monahan.

Via Deadspin, McIlroy said:

"I think some of the reaction to June 6th was warranted, but I think at this point it's eight months ago, and we all need to move on. We all need to sort of move forward and try to bring the game back together."

McIlroy's main goal, and it's likely that Viktor Hovland and others echo this, is to bring the sport back to a unified place.