Viktor Hovland

Viktor Hovland (born 18 September 1997) is a Norwegian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2018 U.S. Amateur and then 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). Hovland picked up his second and third PGA Tour wins at the 2020 and 2021 Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Viktor Hovland
Personal information
Born (1997-09-18) 18 September 1997
Oslo, Norway
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1]
Weight165 lb (75 kg)
Sporting nationality Norway
ResidenceStillwater, Oklahoma, U.S.[1]
Career
CollegeOklahoma State University
Turned professional2019
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Professional wins7
Highest ranking3 (30 January 2022)[2]
(as of 14 May 2023)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
European Tour2
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT7: 2023
PGA ChampionshipT30: 2021
U.S. OpenT12: 2019
The Open ChampionshipT4: 2022

Amateur career

Hovland played college golf at Oklahoma State University.[3] In 2014, Hovland won the Norwegian Amateur Golf Championship.

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

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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

Professional career

2019

Hovland turned professional following the 2019 U.S. Open, and made his professional debut at the Travelers Championship in June.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

2021

In June, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour when he won the BMW International Open.[12]

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.[13]

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.[14] 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.[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.[16]

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.[17]

In December 2022, Hovland successfully defended his title at the Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas,[18] matching Tiger Woods as the only player with back-to-back wins in the event.[19]

Amateur wins

Source:[20]

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 23 Feb 2020 Puerto Rico Open −20 (68-66-64-70=268) 1 stroke United States Josh Teater
2 6 Dec 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic −20 (67-69-63-65=264) 1 stroke United States Aaron Wise
3 7 Nov 2021 World Wide Technology Championship (2) −23 (67-65-62-67=261) 4 strokes Mexico Carlos Ortiz

European Tour wins (2)
Legend
Rolex Series (1)
Other European Tour (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 27 Jun 2021 BMW International Open −19 (68-67-64-70=269) 2 strokes Germany Martin Kaymer
2 30 Jan 2022 Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic −12 (68-69-73-66=276) Playoff England Richard Bland

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2022 Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic England Richard Bland Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (2)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 5 Dec 2021 Hero World Challenge −18 (68-69-67-66=270) 1 stroke United States Scottie Scheffler
2 4 Dec 2022 Hero World Challenge (2) −16 (69-70-64-69=272) 2 strokes United States Scottie Scheffler

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 20192020202120222023
Masters Tournament T32LA T21 T27 T7
PGA Championship T33 T30 T41
U.S. Open T12LA T13 WD CUT
The Open Championship NT T12 T4
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low amateur
"T" = tied for place
WD = withdrew
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00001244
PGA Championship00000033
U.S. Open00000242
The Open Championship00011222
Totals0001261311
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2019 Masters – 2021 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2022 Open Championship – 2023 Masters, current)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 202120222023
The Players Championship CUT T9 T3
  Top 10

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

Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament2020202120222023
Championship T2
Match Play NT1 T42 T18 T31
Invitational T59 T36
Champions NT1 NT1 NT1

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:[20][22]

Professional

See also

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