Viktor Hovland wants PGA's Jay Monahan to take 'ownership of mistakes'

Viktor Hovland believes PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan's much-criticised handling of golf’s civil war has been "swept under the rug".

Monahan admitted he would be seen as a hypocrite after the bombshell announcement of a framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund last year, having previously urged players to remain loyal and banning those who joined the LIV Golf breakaway.

The 53-year-old acknowledged in his press conference ahead of the Players Championship that he could have handled that announcement better and that he took "full responsibility" for a move which blindsided the world’s best players.

But while Rory McIlroy expressed his support for Monahan on Wednesday, the world number two’s Ryder Cup team-mate clearly remains unconvinced.

"I play golf for a living," Hovland said. "I don’t know exactly what should have been done because, at the end of the day, I don’t have all the information.

"But at the same time there were some things that were said that have been walked back on and then things have been very contradictory.

"As a leader of an organisation, 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.

"I don’t mind people making mistakes. We all make mistakes. But I think when you make a mistake you’ve 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.

"I’m not saying I have all the answers, and I’m sure Jay and the leadership had their reasons to do the things that they did.

"I just think there has to be some reconciliation between, OK,