Viktor Hovland

Viktor Hovland (born 18 September 1997) is a Norwegian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and European Tour. He won the 2018 U.S. Amateur and reached number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2019.

Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour (at the 2020 Puerto Rico Open) and on the European Tour (at the 2021 BMW International Open). He has since won five further times on the PGA Tour, including the 2023 Tour Championship resulting in his first FedEx Cup.

Amateur career
Hovland started playing golf at the age of eleven, after his father Harald had taken up golf while working as an engineer in St. Louis. Five years later, in 2014, Hovland won the Norwegian Amateur Golf Championship as a 16-year-old. From 2016 to 2019, he played college golf at Oklahoma State University with, among others, Kristoffer Ventura.

Hovland won the 2018 U.S. Amateur, the first Norwegian player to do so, and earned invitations into the 2019 Masters Tournament, the 2019 U.S. Open, and the 2019 Open Championship. He played in the 2018 Emirates Australian Open as an amateur, finishing tied for 13th place.

Hovland was the low amateur in the 2019 Masters Tournament, finishing three under par in a tie for 32nd. With this performance he rose to number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In the 2019 U.S. Open, he finished in 12th place and was low amateur with a score of 280. This was the lowest 72-hole score by an amateur in the U.S. Open, breaking the previous record of 282, set by Jack Nicklaus in 1960. He became the first player to win low amateur honors at both the Masters and U.S. Open in the same season since Matt Kuchar in 1998. In 2019, he was the recipient of the Ben Hogan Award, awarded to the best college player in the United States.

2019
Hovland turned professional following the 2019 U.S. Open, and made his professional debut at the Travelers Championship in June. By doing so, he forfeited his automatic entry to the 2019 Open Championship.

In August, Hovland finished tied for second in the Albertsons Boise Open, part of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. This finish secured him a PGA Tour card for the 2019–20 season. Hovland set a PGA Tour record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s with 19 lasting into the second round of the CJ Cup in South Korea.

2020: First win
In February, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour when he won the Puerto Rico Open. In December, he picked up his second PGA Tour win, and his first at a full-strength PGA Tour tournament, by birdieing the 72nd hole at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

2021
In June, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour when he won the BMW International Open.

In September, Hovland played on the European team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Hovland went 0–3–2 and tied his Sunday singles match against Collin Morikawa.

In November, Hovland successfully defended his title at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. He won by four strokes and set a tournament record of 23 under par. A month later, he won the Hero World Challenge, finishing at 18 under par, one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler. Key moments in this win were back-to-back eagles in the final round on holes 14 and 15. This win cemented his new nickname as the "Resort King" of golf, as his first 5 professional wins were outside of the Contiguous United States, 4 of which around the Caribbean Sea.

2022
Hovland started the year with a top-5 finish at the European Tour's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January. The following week he won the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic; after shooting a final-round 66, he made a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to defeat Richard Bland. The win lifted him to number three in the Official World Golf Ranking.

In December 2022, Hovland successfully defended his title at the Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas, matching Tiger Woods as the only player with back-to-back wins in the event.

2023
Hovland contended at The Masters and the PGA Championship, but was unable to find his first major victory. He shot a closing round 74 at Augusta to finish tied for 7th. He closed the PGA Championship at Oak Hill with a 68, ultimately falling two strokes shy of Brooks Koepka.

In June, Hovland won the Memorial Tournament, defeating Denny McCarthy in a playoff. Hovland made birdie on the 17th hole to force the playoff, and was the only player to birdie 17 on the day.

In August, Hovland shot a final round course-record 61 to win the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago, Illinois. His scorecard for the final round featured twelve threes. This was the second event in the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs. The following week, he won the Tour Championship, as well as the FedEx Cup. He became the third-youngest FedEx Cup champion.

In September 2023, Hovland played on the European team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia, Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Hovland went 3–1–1 including a win in his Sunday singles match against Collin Morikawa.

Amateur wins

 * 2013 Norgescup 7, Team Norway Junior Tour 6
 * 2014 Alcaidesa Winter Open, Titleist Tour 2, Norwegian Amateur Golf Championship (Norgesmesterskapet)
 * 2018 Valspar Collegiate, U.S. Amateur, Royal Oaks Intercollegiate
 * 2019 The Prestige

Source:

PGA Tour wins (6)
1Started tournament at −8 FedEx Cup playoffs adjustment, scored −19 to par.

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

European Tour wins (2)
European Tour playoff record (1–0)

Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order in 2020. {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} LA = low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied for place WD = withdrew NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

 * Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2019 Masters – 2021 PGA)
 * Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2022 Open Championship – 2023 PGA Championship)

Results in The Players Championship
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}} CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} NT = No tournament "T" = Tied Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.

Team appearances
Amateur
 * European Boys' Team Championship (representing Norway): 2013, 2014, 2015
 * Summer Youth Olympics (representing Norway): 2014
 * Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2015 (tie)
 * European Amateur Team Championship (representing Norway): 2016, 2017
 * Eisenhower Trophy (representing Norway): 2016, 2018
 * Arnold Palmer Cup (representing Europe): 2017, 2018

Sources:

Professional
 * Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2021, 2023 (winners)