Viktor Hovland was ranked as high as third in the world back in 2022 and he ended 2023 in fourth. He long seemed destined for greatness: he won the 2018 US Amateur Championship and then went on to break some of Jack Nicklaus’s amateur records and became the lowest-scoring amateur at both the US Open and the Masters, en route to landing the 2019 Ben Hogan Award as the top college golfer in America.
Still just 28, he had a stellar 2023, winning the Memorial, as well as both the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. Those two huge victories helped him become the FedEx Cup champion. He was the third-youngest victor in the event’s history and took that magnificent form into the Ryder Cup, where he was part of the winning team, setting a record alongside fellow Scandinavian Ludvig Aaberg when the pair thrashed Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9 and 7!
However, just when he seemed set to kick on and start winning majors, 2024 saw him fail to win a tournament for the first time since he turned pro. He also had his worst year in terms of top 10s, with the blame, by the player’s admission, resting on his own shoulders.
He tinkered with his swing and his game paid the price. He tried changing coaches, and that didn’t work, while injuries also played their part. From looking like one of the best young players we had seen in a while and a player destined to become a major champion and Ryder Cup stalwart, he began to look like a golfer who did not know his own swing or game.
Ranking Plummets
He ended 2024 in eighth position in the world rankings and was down to 14th by the end of 2025, which does not look like the most terrible slump the game has ever seen. However, those end-of-season numbers were boosted by a few good results towards the end of each campaign. He hoped that a decent end to 2025 would set him up well for 2026, but he actually went the other way.
A tie for 18th at the Masters was solid enough, but he missed the cut in the next two majors. He missed the cut at the Valspar, and top-10 finishes were very rare. That saw his ranking drop into the high teens, then the 20s and then down to 33 after the US PGA Championship. He finished third at the Canadian Open but then missed the cut at the US Open. But then, somehow, he found form. And we mean some serious form, as well as world-class nerve, verve and mettle.
21 Under Par and a Play-off Verdict Over Scottie
| Position | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Par Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viktor Hovland | 65 | 61 | 64 | 69 | -21 (259) |
| 2 | Scottie Scheffler | 64 | 60 | 67 | 68 | -21 (259) |
| 3 | Collin Morikawa | 69 | 66 | 64 | 61 | -20 (260) |
| 4 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 64 | 66 | 67 | 64 | -19 (261) |
| =5 | Wyndham Clark | 68 | 64 | 65 | 65 | -18 (262) |
| =5 | Akshay Bhatia | 66 | 62 | 67 | 67 | -18 (262) |
| =7 | Corey Conners | 65 | 68 | 67 | 63 | -17 (263) |
| =7 | J.J. Spaun | 66 | 65 | 68 | 64 | -17 (263) |
| =7 | Alex Fitzpatrick | 69 | 66 | 64 | 64 | -17 (263) |
| =10 | Robert MacIntyre | 67 | 65 | 67 | 65 | -16 (264) |
| =10 | Ben Griffin | 64 | 66 | 67 | 67 | -16 (264) |
As returns to form go, winning a play-off against the world number one to land a high-class tournament and earn a cool $3.6m in prize money has to be right up there. What’s more, Hovland produced four very good rounds to finish on 21 under par to get into that shootout in the first place.
The field included the world number one, as said, plus the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick (ranked fourth), Russell Henley (fifth) and Collin Morikawa. In fact, Rory McIlroy was the only member of the world’s top 10 not to be teeing it up at TPC River Highlands.
Hovland bounced back from a very poor performance at Shinnecock Hills. He missed the cut there after playing the first 36 holes in five over par. However, he clearly put that out of his mind as he shot 65 in the first round to put himself right in the mix. He went out in 34, but three birdies in the final four holes brought him back in 31.
In round two, he carried on where he had left off, and then some, opening with four straight threes, all birdies. He shot 30 on the first nine and matched his opening 31 on the way back. His brilliant 61 could have been better two, as he missed some chances, but even so, it gave him a great chance of claiming a first PGA win since March 2025.
That said, with so many high-class players in the field, he was not the only golfer scoring very well. Scheffler made a 60, which was very close to being a 59 on the Friday. That gave him a two-shot advantage over Hovland after 36 holes.
Hovland managed a 64 on moving day, though… and move he did. With Scheffler only managing a 67, the Norwegian moved to the top of the leaderboard. Sunday could not have been any tighter, and despite a remarkable 61 from Morikawa, that took him to 20 under par, and a strong showing from Fitzpatrick, who was a shot further back, it was Hovland and Scheffler who ended tied on 259.
Players Return on Monday
With the light fading on Sunday evening, the tournament organisers opted to bring the duo back on Monday for a sudden-death play-off. Cheered on by Norway football fans and the new “Viking row”, Hovland sealed the deal at the first extra hole with a birdie.
His countrymen had come in decent numbers to the tournament, with Norway having played in (relatively) nearby Boston on Friday. They got to celebrate a victory, and now they, and Hovland, can focus on the Ivory Coast, and maybe, in Hovland’s case, the Open Championship!