There’s a blue July sky over Larvik Golf Club, about two hours south of Oslo. The sun is warming and we can confirm that a Norwegian summer evening is just as wonderful as a Swedish one.

The crowd is eagerly seated at the first tee. He soon appears. Norway’s best golfer of all time in the men’s game.

Viktor Hovland is home in Norway for a two-week holiday and thought he’d have a quiet evening round with his friends Andreas Halvorsen, Kevin André and the former professional footballer John Arne Riise. But what happens when you book in one of the world’s best golfers for an evening friendly round, using your own name, and word gets round?

Word gets round.

Hundreds of people have travelled from all parts of the country to watch Viktor Hovland play golf while he’s on holiday. One dedicated golfer brought his son with him all the way from Bergen to Larvik without skipping a beat. Signed caps, photos and jubilance take up a lot more of this evening than the actual round of golf.

“They’d notified me on Golfbox (Norway’s equivalent of Min Golf (My Golf)) and I didn’t think it would be a problem. But then I guess someone saw my name in that ball and it spread. So when I got there, there were suddenly a couple of hundred people who’d come to watch, so it wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind”, says Hovland and laughs.

Fun for your friends anyway?

“Yes, they were a little nervous. But it was a pretty wonderful day.”

Norway, the leading winter sports country, has caught golfing fever. And it’s no wonder.

Apart from Suzann Pettersen’s outstanding career, with 15 wins on the LPGA tour, two major victories and a highest ranking of number two in the world, the Norwegian flag has rarely been seen among the golfing elite. And even though the friendly Norwegian-Swedish rivalry has been a clear factor in many other sports, on golf courses across the world it’s been obvious which Nordic nation has dominated.

Until 2019 that is.

When Viktor Hovland first appeared and made a name for himself among both golfers and non-golfers in Norway. The previous year he’d won the US Amateur and in 2019 he came 12th in the US Open.

It would only take another year before the real breakthrough happened. As a 23-year-old he was the first Norwegian ever to win on the PGA tour with his victory at the Puerto Rico Open (-20) at the Grand Reserve Country Club.

Since then he’s diligently continued to chip away at the Norwegian first-time list. He was the first to win on the European tour with his victory in the BMW International Open 2021. The first Norwegian to have a top 50 position in the world rankings. The first Norwegian to make the European Ryder Cup team.

Victories two and three on the PGA tour came when he won the Mayakoba Golf Classic in 2020 and then defended his title at the competition in 2021.

The successes of 2021 were then rounded off with a win at Tiger Woods’ invitational Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. After which he could fly home to Norway to celebrate Christmas with his family as number seven in the world. And one million dollars richer.

We managed to get an interview slot via video chat with the Norwegian star one afternoon in November. There’s a seven-hour time difference between Oklahoma, USA and Örebro, Sweden so while it’s already dark outside the windows of Dormy HQ, he’s still waking up.

But he’s in a good mood. He’s been taking it easy since his last PGA win.

You’ve really had a breakthrough, does it feel like it’s been fast to you?

“It’s hard to say, while it feels like I’ve been playing professional golf for a very long time, it’s gone really quickly as well. As you know, I live in Oklahoma right by the college I went to and now the students who were in the first year when I was in my final year are finishing off their studies. So that’s a little reality check.”

What’s the recipe for your success?

“I’ve worked very slowly, had fun playing golf and worked hard. I’ve also been interested in statistics and am always looking for things that can make me better. As a junior I was never particularly impressive and I didn’t develop at all like many of those I was playing against, but I’ve been making new strides every year. As long as you’re constantly improving you can go a long way.”

Just like for Bryson DeChambeau, the interest in statistics is what is propelling him to new heights every year. Even if his approach is a little different. For Viktor Hovland the playing statistics are his main focus.

“It’s really about dividing up my game into separate parts. Obviously I know what I need to work on, but it’s also really helpful to have the numbers that confirm what I’m thinking. If you look at my statistics, I’ve already improved in every aspect of my game since I turned pro, but I still have a bit of work to do around the greens. I’m spending a lot of time there, working at becoming a more stable and slightly more consistent putter. I’m hitting much further now than when I turned pro. So if I can continue to build on this and hit a little further and a little further and a little further but still maintain my putting and stability, that would be a good thing.”

Are you as interested in the equipment as the statistics?

“No, not at all! I’m a very technical person and I love understanding why things happen. But when it comes to clubs I’ve never really looked into it, what different shafts do and the degrees this way or that way. I feel like it might be a dangerous path to go down when you get into it and you might start modifying things a bit too much. So I try to keep it very simple in that area and work on other things instead.”

The “very simple” equipment is signed Ping, founded by the Norwegian Karsten Solheim. Where the Norwegian roots make the collaboration especially valuable to Viktor Hovland, who’s lived in the US his whole career. Of course he has family and friends back home in Norway, watches Norwegian news and one or two Norwegian TV series from time to time, but apart from that, there’s not much Norwegian in his daily life.

“Living here in the US it’s very easy to… well I wouldn’t say forget where you’re from… but of course the US is very different to Norway and Sweden. I’m enjoying working with J.Lindeberg apparel from Sweden and Ping clubs which you could say are from Norway. Having things that keep me connected to where I come from makes it a little more unique.”

Viktor Hovland was born on 18 September 1997 in Oslo. But despite Norway having strongly established itself as an all-out winter sports country, there was never any question that he’d follow that path. He did a few different sports as a child, but none of them included woolly hats or ski boots. Instead it was taekwondo, football and golf.

“I grew up on Grønmo Golf Club which is 10 minutes from where I lived as a child. It was a great environment with lots of juniors of my age who liked playing golf and when I could see that I was improving every year, I found it enjoyable to continue. I’ve always just really loved playing golf.”

He drew early inspiration from Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia.

“I’ve always looked up to Tiger. I watched hours of videos of highlights, key putts he sank and smooth recovery shots from the woods. In Europe it was Sergio Garcia. Both Tiger and Garcia have played a big role in my development.”

Almost a decade after watching the clip countless times from the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill 2013 – when Garcia climbed up into a tree on the 10th hole to hit his second shot, backwards and one-handed – it was Hovland’s turn to step out onto Whistling Straits, Haven in Wisconsin, USA, in exactly the same European team shirt that Garcia wore.

The hope of joining the European Ryder Cup team was there from a young age. But since the tournament was supposed to be played in 2020 and not 2021, there wasn’t actually very much time to qualify for it. Obviously the fact that COVID-19 turned the world upside down is nothing to cheer about, but it did give Hovland an extra year to prepare.

What was it like to be part of the team?

“For me it was completely incredible. The whole European team was made up of people I’d looked up to for the last seven years and who I’d watched play for a very long time. Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, just legends of European golf. And then to have (Pádraig) Harrington, Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stenson and G-mac (Graeme McDowell) there. Being on the same team as them was a great honour. Even though we didn’t really perform at our very best that week, it’s a life experience I’ll never forget.”

When Viktor Hovland took part in the podcast Better than I found it, the host Mike McGraw said that “enthusiasm is like a fifteenth club in the bag”. And it’s rare to see Hovland without a smile on his face.

Despite standing among real giants at the top, the enthusiastic Hovland seems to be particularly popular with the audience and media alike. Suddenly a young, genuine Norwegian came along who likes poker and heavy metal music, smiles to the camera and speaks openly about being nervous.

Maybe the cameras have managed to catch him at the right moments. But it’s probably just that he actually has fun playing golf like he says he does.

Even if the 24-year-old isn’t too keen on setting results goals, it’s pretty clear that a win at a major is top of his wish list. Now that he’s played well in a number of competitions and won on both the European and the PGA tours, a major is naturally the next step. Not least to even out the statistics (in the men’s game).

“It would be fantastic to win a major. Sweden has one of course through Henrik Stenson so it would be great to even things up a bit so Norway gets one up on the board as well. Obviously those are the tournaments that mean the most so hopefully I’ll manage to play closer to my best and produce that at the big competitions in the future.”

Do you feel the little national rivalry between Sweden and Norway?

“Well, I guess so, a little. Certainly when I was younger and would watch a lot of skiing. But that might not have been the best rivalry since we’re pretty good at that, but you guys are better at football, ice hockey and the bigger sports. In golf over the years you guys have of course been better but of course there’s a little rivalry”, he says and smiles.

But now you’ve come along and taken over?

“Yeah, I guess it’s moving in that direction a bit. But you still have many more than us so we have our work cut out.”

Thanks to Hovland’s massive breakthrough, the number of children in Norway putting on a white glove and cap instead of ski boots and woolly hat may just be on the increase.

Right now, with Norway boasting such a shining star at the top of the game, it would have been the perfect moment to build a solid foundation for Norwegian golf on home territory. But since the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports and the European Tour have not agreed on doping rules (where the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports says that a player must always be available for doping tests and the European Tour doesn’t agree) unfortunately no European Tour competitions can currently be played on Norwegian soil. This would probably have been an effective and highly appreciated first step towards developing interest in Norwegian golf.

What does it mean for Norway to not be able to organise European Tour competitions?

“Obviously it’s a bit of a shame, and a setback for Norwegian golf. It would have been a great opportunity for other pros or people who aren’t so familiar with golf to go to a tournament and see top-level golf with their own eyes, instead of just watching it on TV. I play mostly in the US of course, so for me personally it doesn’t make much difference, but I would have loved to play a European Tour competition at Miklagard Golf, for example, which is my home club in Norway, if we’d been allowed to. Hopefully we can find a solution to this in the future.”

Which major is the most important one to you?

“As you know I played my first major at the Masters and that was a totally incredible experience. I’ve been watching the Masters since I was very young and to be there playing in front of thousands of people was fantastic, so I’d have to say that the Masters is number one. But at the same time, I’ve never been to St. Andrews so it I would love to play a British Open as well”, he says, pauses and continues:

“So yeah, all of the majors, it would completely incredible to win one of them, I wouldn’t complain.”

So while Frida Karlsson and Therese Johaug continue to chase each other on the ski trails, Viktor Hovland is chasing majors. And do we dare guess that it won’t be all that long before he wins one of those as well? Two? Maybe three?

We look forward to it.

Almost as much as we look forward to the next Swede winning theirs.

DRIVER:

Ping G425 LST, 8.4°

FAIRWAY WOODS:

TaylorMade SIM 15° and Ping G425 Max 20.5°

IRONS:

Ping i210 (4-PW)

WEDGES:

Ping Glide Forged Pro 50° and 56° and Titleist Vokey SM8 60°

PUTTER:

Ping PLD DS 72 Prototype