Viktor Hovland made further strides in his Ryder Cup qualification bid with a tied third place finish at the Valspar Championship, four shots back from first-time PGA TOUR winner Sam Burns.
The Norwegian carded his best round of the week on the final day in Florida, with a superb five under front nine 31 helping him to a closing 65, finishing on a 14 under par total for a share of third alongside American Cameron Tringale.
The 23-year-old climbed four places in the Ryder Cup World Points List, moving into the second automatic spot with 201.6 points - a position which will come as no surprise considering the consistent form he has been showing since the turn of the year.
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Since the start of the calendar year Hovland has finished inside the top six on five occasions, with his best finishes being tied second at both the Farmers Insurance Open and the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession.
Other results include a tied fifth finish at the Genesis Invitational and a tied sixth at the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers on the European Tour.
Add to that two wins on the PGA TOUR in 2020, as well as a tied third finish at the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and Captain Pádraig Harrington surely has a hot prospect on his hands.
It would also be a history-making Ryder Cup should Hovland feature at Whistling Straits as he would become the first Norwegian golfer to represent Europe at the Ryder Cup.
As it stands Tommy Fleetwood (4,911.26 points), Jon Rahm (4,823.60 points), Tyrrell Hatton (4,726.56 points) and Rory McIlroy (3,885.19 points) fill the automatic qualification places on the European Points List.
Meanwhile, Lee Westwood (218.35 points), Hovland (201.60 points), Matthew Fitzpatrick (189.96), Victor Perez (187.37 points) and Paul Casey (181.31 points) currently occupy the World Points List spots.
