Viktor Hovland (24) hopes he can get a small role in the Netflix series about the PGA Tour, but is doubtful whether it will be a “Formula 1 effect”.
Aftenposten collaborates with VG-sporten. Therefore, as an Aftenposten reader, you also get articles and services created by VG.
In mid-January, it was announced that there would be a Netflix series about the PGA Tour, produced by the series creators behind the huge success “Drive to Survive”.
Viktor Hovland is among the players who will have a role in the series.
– “Drive to Survive” has been quite big for Formula 1, but it is questionable whether it (the Netflix series about the PGA Tour) will have the same effect for golf. If it is done correctly, and if you let people into their privacy a little, it can be quite good, says Hovland to VG.
According to Golf Digest began filming during the Hero World Challenge in December – a tournament that Hovland emerged victorious from. The 24-year-old has not previously been over-excited by the idea of having a camera team on his heels, and says the following about his own role:
– I’m a little skeptical about it really, but it would have been cool to at least have a small role in the series. It is not clear right now how big a role it will be. I said yes to that, then we’ll see what happens. If it is done correctly, I think it can be very, very cool, says Hovland.
The first season of “Drive to Survive” came out in 2019, and Viaplay’s Formula 1 commentator, Atle Gulbrandsen, is aware that the documentary series has been of great importance to the sport.
– It has revolutionized interest all over the world, easily and simply. The interest has probably never been higher, says Gulbrandsen, and points to sold-out races around the world and that viewer numbers in Norway have occasionally increased tenfold.
Gulbrandsen points out that Formula 1 had long been a closed sport. He believes it created mystery around the sport, but that Formula 1 then became a much more open sport when the former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone disappeared and Liberty Media took over the rights in 2016.
– Suddenly you get to see what goes on behind the scenes, in a sport that so many have a relationship with, but which you did not quite know how worked. There is a greater understanding of what Formula 1 is about, and you have a much closer relationship with the profiles.
Therefore, he is also unsure whether similar Netflix series will hit as well as “Drive to Survive”.
– That it can revolutionize a sport in the same way, I’m skeptical. “Drive to Survive” was not the first out either, but it has hit a nerve due to the history of Formula 1, he says.
Marius Thorp, golf expert at Discovery, believes the documentary series has the potential to be as successful as the Formula 1 series, but believes it depends on it being done “correctly”.
– It is very positive that you can get an insight into what is happening behind closed doors. I think there are many golf fans all over the world who are curious about it, says Thorp.
– What do you think we can expect to see from Viktor Hovland in the series?
– You do not know how big a role he will get, but he is among the best players and has many fans. It is natural that he gets a pretty big role, Thorp thinks.
Reference-www.aftenposten.no