Viktor Hovland joins Rory McIlroy in being unimpressed with Riviera change

Rory McIlroy wasn't the only one unimpressed by a tweak to Riviera Country Club ahead of this week's PGA Tour event. 

Viktor Hovland also expressed his displeasure after discovering the grounds crew have shut down his sneaky shortcut on the 15th hole. 

Over the last few years, the Norwegian has attacked the par-four in an unconventional manner by launching his drive up the right on the neighbouring 17th fairway. 

But the European Ryder Cup star will not be able to do so this week as trees have been installed as a defence. 

Hovland revealed the tweak as he played his practice round ahead of the signature Genesis Invitational on Wednesday. 

'SMH', he captioned the post. 

In case you're not down with the lingo, that means 'shaking my head'.

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The 2025 Genesis Invitational wasn't played at Riviera as wildfires forced it to be moved location to Torrey Pines. 

But in Hovland's last appearance here he played the 15th hole in level par for the week, registering two pars, a birdie and a bogey. 

That year, Riviera tried a different deterrent by positioning a tournament scoreboard in Hovland's alternate line. 

He simply smashed his drives over it. 

Hovland heads into the second signature event of the 2026 PGA Tour season in mixed form. 

The world number 16 shared 10th place at the WM Phoenix Open a few weeks ago and backed it up with a T58 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week. 

The 2025 Valspar Championship represented the last time Hovland entered the winner's circle. 

He appears to be struggling somewhat with his game. Last week, he was pictured on the range wearing a pair of floaties. 

No, he wasn't preparing for a swim but he believes they help train his swing mechanics. 

"I have conceded kind of that when you're struggling and you're in a rut, and you feel like you're in a hole, a bad attitude just amplifies that," Hovland told media at the start of the year.

"So I think it can really kill you with a bad attitude.

"But just having a good attitude is not going to get you out of the soup.

"You actually have to solve the problems and see progress in practice, and then you can start to believe."

Rory McIlroy fumes at 'horrible change' 

World number two Rory McIlroy took aim at what he believes is a "horrible" change to Riviera during his news conference on Wednesday. 

As far as the Northern Irishman is concerned, he believes it was misguided to lengthen the par-three fourth hole from 230 yards to 270. 

"I don't think four plays any differently, you're just hitting a slightly longer club," he said. "I actually think it's a horrible change."

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