Biography

Viktor Hovland will make his third consecutive appearance for Team Europe after being selected by Luke Donald as a Captain's pick for the first time. After playing a vital role in Europe’s Ryder Cup success in Rome, Hovland underwent a difficult spell and admittedly struggled with his game and his swing before an incredible comeback victory at the Valspar Championship earlier this year. Hovland had trailed by three shots after the 13th hole but made a run of birdies on the 14th, 15th and 17th to beat out Justin Thomas to the title by one shot. At the time, Hovland had called it “unbelievable.” "It feels unbelievable. It's been quite the struggle the past year and a half, so for me to come back and win this tournament is quite incredible because I was not very hopeful with my game leading into this week.” Prior to that, he’d missed three cuts in a row but has since gone on to find a lot more confidence in his game. The highlight of his more recent form is a third place finish at the U.S. Open in June, with a tie for 7th at the BMW Championship and 12th place finish at the Tour Championship on the PGA TOUR in August.

Hovland will now be making his second appearance in an away Ryder Cup following his debut as a Rookie at Whistling Straits in 2021, where he returned with a record of 0-3-1. Hovland played in all five sessions that year but, as part a disappointing outing for Team Europe, his only points came from a tied fourball match with Tommy Feetwood against Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas on Friday afternoon, and a tie in his singles match against Collin Morikawa. Things were very different in 2023. One half of a record-breaking pairing, Hovland was part of history at Marco Simone alongside Ludvig Åberg. After earning their first foursomes point against Brian Harman and Max Homa 4&3 on Friday morning, the pair went on to defeat Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9&7, marking the largest margin of victory in a foursomes match in the Ryder Cup. The duo did lose their Saturday afternoon four-ball match 4&3 against Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns, but Hovland had already teamed up with Tyrrell Hatton for a half in their fourballs match the previous afternoon against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth to add another half point to the European tally. For the second contest in a row Hovland faced Morikawa in Singles, this time walking away the victor with a 4&3 win, and an impressive 3-1-1 record.