Viktor Hovland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Viktor Hovland
Hovland at the 2019 Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship
Personal information
Nickname	Hovi
Born	(1997-09-18) 18 September 1997 (age 27) Oslo, Norway
Height	5 ft 10 in
Weight	165 lbs
Nationality	Norway
Residence	Stillwater, Oklahoma, U.S.
Career
College	Oklahoma State University
Turned professional	2019
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour European Tour
Professional wins	11
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	7
European Tour	2
Other	2
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament	T7: 2023
U.S. Open	3rd: 2025
The Open Championship	T4: 2022
PGA Championship	T2: 2023
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour FedEx Cup winner	2023

Viktor Hovland, born on September 18, 1997, is a professional golfer from Norway. He plays on two major golf tours: the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

Viktor won a big amateur tournament called the U.S. Amateur in 2018. In 2019, he became the top-ranked amateur golfer in the world! Viktor made history by being the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour in 2020. He also became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour in 2021. Since then, he has won many more times on the PGA Tour. In 2023, he won the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup, which is a huge achievement in golf!

Viktor's Early Golf Days

Viktor Hovland started playing golf when he was eleven years old. His dad, Harald, got into golf while working in St. Louis. Just five years later, in 2014, Viktor won the Norwegian Amateur Golf Championship. He was only 16!

From 2016 to 2019, Viktor played college golf. He went to Oklahoma State University.

Big Wins as an Amateur

In 2018, Viktor won the U.S. Amateur tournament. He was the first Norwegian player ever to do this! This win earned him invitations to three major golf tournaments in 2019: the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship.

He also played in the 2018 Emirates Australian Open as an amateur. He finished tied for 13th place.

In the 2019 Masters Tournament, Viktor was the best amateur player. He finished tied for 32nd place. After this, he became the number one amateur golfer in the world. At the 2019 U.S. Open, he finished 12th. He was again the best amateur player. His score of 280 was the lowest ever for an amateur at the U.S. Open. He broke a record set by the famous golfer Jack Nicklaus in 1960. Viktor was the first player since Matt Kuchar in 1998 to be the top amateur at both the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. In 2019, he received the Ben Hogan Award. This award goes to the best college golfer in the United States.

Becoming a Professional Golfer

Starting His Pro Career in 2019

Viktor Hovland became a professional golfer after the 2019 U.S. Open. His first professional tournament was the Travelers Championship in June. By turning pro, he gave up his automatic spot in the 2019 Open Championship.

In August, Viktor finished tied for second at the Albertsons Boise Open. This helped him earn a spot on the PGA Tour for the 2019–20 season. Viktor also set a PGA Tour record. He had 19 rounds in a row where he scored in the 60s. This streak lasted into the second round of the CJ Cup in South Korea.

First Wins in 2020

In February 2020, Viktor made history again. He became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour. This happened at the Puerto Rico Open. In December, he got his second PGA Tour win. This was his first win at a tournament with all the top players. He won the Mayakoba Golf Classic by making a birdie on the very last hole.

Success in 2021

In June 2021, Viktor became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour. He won the BMW International Open.

In September, Viktor played for the European team in the 2021 Ryder Cup. This was a big team golf event. He was the first Norwegian to be on a Ryder Cup team. The U.S. team won that year.

In November, Viktor won the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba again. He won by four strokes. He also set a new tournament record with a score of 23 under par. A month later, he won the Hero World Challenge. He finished one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler. During this win, he made two eagles in a row on holes 14 and 15 in the final round. Because his first five professional wins were in places outside the main United States, many of them near the Caribbean Sea, he earned the nickname "Resort King" of golf.

More Victories in 2022

Viktor started 2022 with a great finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The next week, he won the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic. He shot a great final round and then won in a sudden-death playoff. This win moved him up to number three in the Official World Golf Ranking.

In December 2022, Viktor won the Hero World Challenge for the second year in a row. He matched Tiger Woods as the only player to win this event back-to-back.

Amazing Year in 2023

In 2023, Viktor played very well in major tournaments. He finished tied for 7th at The Masters. He also finished tied for 2nd at the PGA Championship, just two strokes behind the winner.

In June, Viktor won the Memorial Tournament. He beat Denny McCarthy in a playoff. Viktor made a birdie on the 17th hole to force the playoff.

In August, Viktor had an incredible final round at the BMW Championship. He shot a course-record 61 to win the tournament. This was the second event in the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs. The very next week, he won the Tour Championship and the overall FedEx Cup. He became the third-youngest FedEx Cup champion ever.

In September 2023, Viktor played for the European team in the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy. The European team won the cup! Viktor had a great record, winning three matches and tying one. He also won his singles match against Collin Morikawa. In one of his matches, he and his teammate Ludvig Åberg won by a huge margin. They beat world number one Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka by 9 and 7. This set a new record for the largest winning margin in an 18-hole Ryder Cup match!

2025 Season

In March 2025, Viktor won the Valspar Championship. This was his first win since the 2023 Tour Championship. He was three shots behind with only a few holes left. But he made birdies on three of the last five holes to win by one shot!

Major Tournament Results

Viktor has played in many major golf championships. These are some of the biggest tournaments in golf.

     Top 10      Did not play LA = low amateur (best amateur player)
CUT = missed the half-way cut (didn't play the final rounds)
"T" = tied for place
WD = withdrew (left the tournament)
NT = no tournament (tournament was not held)

Summary of Major Results

Viktor has done very well in major tournaments. He has finished in the top 10 five times. He has also finished in the top 25 twelve times.

• He made the cut in 6 tournaments in a row (from 2019 Masters to 2021 PGA).
• He had a streak of 3 top-10 finishes (from 2022 Open Championship to 2023 PGA Championship).

Team Competitions

Viktor has represented Norway and Europe in several team golf events.

As an Amateur

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

As a Professional

• Ryder Cup (for Europe): 2021, 2023 (Europe won!)