After Viktor Hovland's rules breach on Thursday, it's been revealed that it was, in fact, his mother who informed him of the incorrect marker placement.
Viktor Hovland’s Mother Informs Him Of Rule Breach
Viktor Hovland had endured a dramatic first round on Thursday at The Players Championship, with not one but two rules issues having to be resolved at TPC Sawgrass.
Related: Viktor Hovland Assessed Two-Shot Penalty After Marker Mishap
The Norwegian was playing the 15th hole when he moved his ball marker one putter head to avoid Justin Thomas’ line.
The person who alerted Viktor Hovland that he didn't replace his ball properly thus leading to a two-shot penalty was … his mother.
That is some tough, tough love.
— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) March 12, 2021
After Thomas had putted, Hovland replaced his ball marker. However, he actually moved it one putter head in the wrong direction.
As a result, Hovland broke Rule 14.7, which states: ‘The score with the ball played from a wrong place counts, and the player gets the general penalty under Rule 14.7 (which means that two penalty strokes are added to the score with that ball).’
Related: What Is The General Penalty? Golf Rules Explained
According to reports, on Thursday afternoon, rules official Gary Young told PGATour.com that Hovland was notified by someone in Norway of the infringement.
It turned out that the person who identified the rules infringement from Norway was none other than Hovland’s mother, Galina.
According to Young, the 23-year-old had been heading to his car after his round had finished, when his mother rang and asked him if he was going to get a penalty for what occurred on the 15th.
Hovland had no idea what she was talking about, with Young stating: “He and his caddie reached out to our committee and asked if we had any video of it, because he had no recollection of doing it.”
Hovland and his caddie, Shay Knight. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Looking back at the video, it did show that Hovland failed to put the mark in its precise spot, therefore his score was changed from a two-under-par 70, to a level-par 72.
Related: What is Viktor Hovland Wearing?
“He had left the property,” Young said to PGATour.com. “I sent him a clip of the video, and he’s very comfortable with the result, that he’s getting the penalty. He understands the rule. He didn’t know he did it.”
Hovland currently sits around the cut mark at TPC Sawgrass that is projected to be even-par.