Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland (born 18 September 1997) is a Norwegian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour by winning the 2020 Puerto Rico Open. He also became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour by winning the 2021 BMW International Open. Hovland picked up his second and third PGA Tour wins when he won the 2020 and 2021 Mayakoba Golf Classic. He also won the 2018 U.S. Amateur.
| Viktor Hovland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 18 September 1997 Oslo, Norway |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] |
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Sporting nationality |  Norway |
| Residence | Stillwater, Oklahoma, U.S.[1] |
| Career | |
| College | Oklahoma State University |
| Turned professional | 2019 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour |
| Professional wins | 6 |
| Highest ranking | 3 (30 January 2022)[2] (as of 1 May 2022) |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 3 |
| European Tour | 2 |
| Other | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T21: 2021 |
| PGA Championship | T30: 2021 |
| U.S. Open | T12: 2019 |
| The Open Championship | T12: 2021 |
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.
Professional career
2019
Hovland turned professional following the 2019 U.S. Open, and made his professional debut at the Travelers Championship in June.[8] 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.[9] In December, Hovland 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.[10]
2021
In June, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour when he won the BMW International Open.[11]
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.[12] A month later, Hovland 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.[13] 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.[14]
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.[15]
Amateur wins
- 2013 Norgescup 7, Team Norway Junior Tour 6
- 2014 Alcaidesa Winter Open, Titleist Tour 2, Norwegian Amateur Golf Championship
- 2014 Jason Floyd Junior Golf Tour, The San Roque Club Triple A Series
- 2018 Valspar Collegiate, U.S. Amateur, Royal Oaks Intercollegiate
- 2019 The Prestige
Source:[16]
Professional wins (6)
PGA Tour wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 Feb 2020 | Puerto Rico Open | −20 (68-66-64-70=268) | 1 stroke |  Josh Teater |
| 2 | 6 Dec 2020 | Mayakoba Golf Classic | −20 (67-69-63-65=264) | 1 stroke | Aaron Wise |
| 3 | 7 Nov 2021 | World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba (2) | −23 (67-65-62-67=261) | 4 strokes |  Carlos Ortiz |
European Tour wins (2)
| Legend |
| Rolex Series (1) |
| Other European Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 Jun 2021 | BMW International Open | −19 (68-67-64-70=269) | 2 strokes |  Martin Kaymer |
| 2 | 30 Jan 2022 | Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic | −12 (68-69-73-66=276) | Playoff |  Richard Bland |
European Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022 | Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic | Richard Bland |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Other wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 Dec 2021 | Hero World Challenge | −18 (68-69-67-66=270) | 1 stroke | Scottie Scheffler |
Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T32LA | T21 | T27 | |
| PGA Championship | T33 | T30 | ||
| U.S. Open | T12LA | T13 | WD | |
| The Open Championship | NT | T12 |
LA = Low amateur
"T" = tied for place
WD = withdrew
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2019 Masters – 2021 PGA)
Results in The Players Championship
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | T9 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | T2 | ||
| Match Play | NT1 | T42 | T18 |
| Invitational | T59 | T36 | |
| Champions | NT1 | NT1 |
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.
Team appearances
Amateur
- 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
Professional
References
- "Viktor Hovland – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- "Week 5 2022 Ending 30 Jan 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- "Viktor Hovland – 2017–18 Men's Golf". Oklahoma State University. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- Shedloski, Dave (19 August 2018). "Champion Hovland Displays Talent, Levity". USGA. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- "Golf Australia scores". Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "Hovland rides magnificent Masters to world number one". World Amateur Golf Ranking. 17 April 2019.
- Schlabach, Mark (16 June 2019). "Amateur Hovland breaks Jack's U.S. Open mark". ESPN.
- Johnson, E. Michael (19 June 2019). "Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff turn pro at Travelers Championship and immediately cash in with equipment deals". Golf Digest.
- "Viktor Hovland becomes PGA Tour's first Norwegian winner". Sportsnet. Associated Press. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- "Golf: Hovland birdies last hole to clinch Mayakoba win". Yahoo Sports. Reuters. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- "Hovland makes history with maiden European Tour win". European Tour. 27 June 2021.
- O'Neill, Dan (7 November 2021). "Viktor Hovland, With a Borrowed Driver, Repeats as Mayakoba Champion". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- "Viktor Hovland shoots Sunday 66 to steal win at Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas". MSN Sports. 5 December 2021.
- Rapaport, Dan (6 December 2021). "Viktor Hovland Wins 2021 Hero World Challenge". Golf Digest. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- Smith, Matthew (30 January 2022). "Viktor Hovland wins Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic". Gulf News. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- "Viktor Hovland". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- "European Amateur Team Championship – European Golf Association". Retrieved 18 August 2020.
External links
- Viktor Hovland at the European Tour official site
- Viktor Hovland at the PGA Tour official site
- Viktor Hovland at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
