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. Amateur career. Hovland played college golf at Oklahoma State University. 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. He played in the 2018 Emirates Australian Open as an amateur, finishing tied for 13th place. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 2021. In  June, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the European Tour when he won the BMW International Open. 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. 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. 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. 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. Amateur wins. Source: Professional wins (6). European Tour wins (2). European Tour playoff record (1–0) Results in major championships. "Results not in chronological order in 2020." LA = Low amateur "T" = tied for place WD = withdrew NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic Results in The Players Championship. CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place Results in World Golf Championships. Cancelled due to COVID-19  pandemic NT = No tournament "T" = Tied Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. Team appearances. Amateur Sources: Professional