Written by Stephen Moloney (www.twitter.com/TheCheeky9)
Now, if you already know who Viktor Hovland is, then, congratulations, you have earned my respect; and if you were in this room right now we would exchange firm handshakes and nods of admiration.
If you do not know who Viktor Hovland is, however, then, again, ‘congratulations’ are in order … because you’ve just earned yourself a full minute of me silently judging you. Please do not make any sudden noises or movements during this time, as doing so could risk spooking my high horse – and that would be unacceptable.
When it comes to the 22 year old Norwegian, though, you really should get to know who this guy is because he is an absolute stallion in the making. I mean, let me just give you a quickfire rundown of some of the highlights from his career so far: he’s a former World No.1 Amateur; he cruised to the U.S. Amateur Championship in 2018, winning 6&5 in the final; he won the low amateur at the 2019 Masters; he won the low amateur at the U.S. Open and broke the record for the lowest 72 hole score by an amateur (a record set by Jack Nicklaus back in 1960); and since he turned professional after that stunning U.S. Open performance at Pebble Beach, he has played eight events, missed zero cuts, only finished outside the Top 20 once, tied a PGA Tour record that was originally set when he was only four years old and, unsurprisingly, secured his PGA Tour Card for 2020.
Like, I think we can agree that’s all more than a tad impressive, right?
Thing is, though, you might be wondering, “Ok, but if this guy is so amazing, how come I haven’t heard about him until you started screaming in my face about him?”. Well, first of all, I wasn’t screaming; and, secondly, the reason Viktor has been flying somewhat under the radar on this side of the Atlantic, is that he’s been playing most, if not all, of his golf over the last few years in the States. He went to the Oklahoma State University, where he contributed to them winning an NCAA Division I team title, and when he began the process of gradually dipping his toe into the veritable shark tank that is the sphere of professional golf whilst still an amateur towards the beginning of this year, it was all PGA Tour events he played in. In fact, this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is Viktor’s first tournament in Europe as a professional, having only played previously as an amateur in the European Open back in 2018 – an event where he missed the cut.
So, the guy’s good, I’ve established that, but what’s this “Stalwart in Waiting” business about? Do I mean I think he’s going to be a stalwart of the PGA Tour? European Tour? Well, yeah, I mean it in that sense (though, at this stage, I reckon he’ll be spending most of his time Stateside, however I could be proven wrong) but what I happen to be referring to specifically is him, given what this entire series is about, becoming a stalwart of the European Ryder Cup team – because he has everything you could possibly want from a potential Ryder Cup player.
Off the tee? He’s long (300+ yards), yet accurate. His ironplay? Outstanding. Like all modern pros he can send the ball to the moon and have it land like a shot put; but he can also work the ball both ways – and, as his championship match in the U.S. Amateur showed, he’s also able to conjure up this really unique ball flight that starts off as this tidy little ‘baby draw’, but then, just after reaching its apex, it weirdly begins to fade ever so subtly back in the opposite direction. His wedge game? Super solid. Scrambling? Solid. Putting? Well, like I mentioned earlier, he’s tied a record for shooting seventeen consecutive rounds in the 60’s – you don’t do that if you don’t know how to putt.
What I think puts Viktor over-the-top, however, in terms of his potential to become a stalwart in the blue and yellow of Europe, is the wealth of experience playing college golf has given him in competing in meaningful, high-pressure team matchplay events. Now, granted, would playing in the pressure cooker of the Ryder Cup be immeasurably more intense than anything Viktor would have encountered in his time as an Oklahoma State Cowboy? You’d have to think so, yes – but, nonetheless, to have that memory bank of matchplay experience to call upon could only be a good thing.
So, come next September, will we be watching Viktor Hovland stepping out on the first tee at Whistling Straits in his rookie debut? Personally, I think we will. If we don’t, however, it’ll only be a matter of time before we see him with the European flag on his chest – he’s too good a player for that not to happen.
And whenever he does eventually get into that team? He’ll be there to stay.