Viktor_Hovland

Viktor Hovland

Viktor Hovland

Norwegian professional golfer (born 1997)

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.

Quick Facts Personal information, Nickname ...

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.[4]

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.[5] He played in the 2018 Emirates Australian Open as an amateur, finishing tied for 13th place.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Professional career

2019

Hovland turned professional following the 2019 U.S. Open, and made his professional debut at the Travelers Championship in June.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

2021

In June, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour when he won the BMW International Open.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]

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.[18]

In December 2022, Hovland successfully defended his title at the Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas,[19] matching Tiger Woods as the only player with back-to-back wins in the event.[20]

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.[21]

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.[22] The following week, he won the Tour Championship, as well as the FedEx Cup. He became the third-youngest FedEx Cup champion.[23]

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

Source:[24]

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (6)

More information Legend ...
More information No., Date ...

1Started tournament at −8 FedEx Cup playoffs adjustment, scored −19 to par.

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

More information No., Year ...

European Tour wins (2)

More information Legend ...
More information No., Date ...

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

More information No., Year ...

Other wins (2)

More information No., Date ...

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

More information Tournament ...
  Top 10
  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

More information Tournament, Wins ...
  • 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

More information Tournament ...
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

More information Tournament ...

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Top 10
  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

Sources:[24][26]

Professional

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Wall, Jonathan (9 October 2023). "Ping unveils special Viktor Hovland 'Hovi' Signature PLD Limited putter". Golf Magazine. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  2. [2]
    "Viktor Hovland – Profile". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  3. [3]
    "Week 5 2022 Ending 30 Jan 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Viktor Hovland – 2017–18 Men's Golf". Oklahoma State University. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  5. [5]
    Shedloski, Dave (19 August 2018). "Champion Hovland Displays Talent, Levity". USGA. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. [6]
    "Golf Australia scores". Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Hovland rides magnificent Masters to world number one". World Amateur Golf Ranking. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  8. [8]
    Schlabach, Mark (16 June 2019). "Amateur Hovland breaks Jack's U.S. Open mark". ESPN. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  9. [9]
    "Viktor Hovland receives Ben Hogan Award as best college golfer". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  10. [10]
    Johnson, E. Michael (19 June 2019). "Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff turn pro at Travelers Championship and immediately cash in with equipment deals". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  11. [11]
    "Viktor Hovland becomes PGA Tour's first Norwegian winner". Sportsnet. Associated Press. 23 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  12. [12]
    "Golf: Hovland birdies last hole to clinch Mayakoba win". Yahoo Sports. Reuters. 6 December 2020. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  13. [13]
    "Hovland makes history with maiden European Tour win". European Tour. 27 June 2021. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  14. [14]
    Melton, Zephyr (19 January 2022). "What the Ryder Cup taught Viktor Hovland about his own game". Golf. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  15. [15]
    O'Neill, Dan (7 November 2021). "Viktor Hovland, With a Borrowed Driver, Repeats as Mayakoba Champion". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  16. [16]
    "Viktor Hovland shoots Sunday 66 to steal win at Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas". MSN Sports. 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  17. [17]
    Rapaport, Dan (6 December 2021). "Viktor Hovland Wins 2021 Hero World Challenge". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  18. [18]
    Smith, Matthew (30 January 2022). "Viktor Hovland wins Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  19. [19]
    Bolton, Rob (4 December 2022). "Hero World Challenge payouts: Viktor Hovland earns $1 million with win". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  20. [20]
    "Hovland conserve son titre" [Hovland retains title]. La Presse (in French). Agence France-Presse. 4 December 2022. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  21. [21]
    Ferguson, Doug (4 June 2023). "Hovland delivers clutch putts and wins Memorial in playoff". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  22. [22]
    McDonald, Patrick (20 August 2023). "2023 BMW Championship leaderboard: Viktor Hovland breaks course record, surges past Scottie Scheffler for win". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  23. [23]
    Ferguson, Doug (27 August 2023). "Viktor Hovland wins FedEx Cup with the best 2 weeks of his career". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  24. [24]
    "Viktor Hovland". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  25. [25]
    "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". 19 October 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  26. [26]
    "European Amateur Team Championship – European Golf Association". 19 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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