Defeating the world's No. 1-ranked golfer in a playoff softened the sting of back-to-back missed cuts at majors for Norway's Viktor Hovland.
Hovland, 28, confidently heads into this week's Genesis Scottish Open with one eye on another trophy and one on the Norwegian soccer team that is currently making waves at the FIFA World Cup.
Last time out, Hovland defeated Scottie Scheffler on the first playoff hole to win the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 29 in Cromwell, Conn. It was
the eighth career PGA Tour victory and first of the season for Hovland, who missed the cuts at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.
"Every tournament we are all starting in scratch from some way but it does feel like my shoulders are lower, I'm a bit more relaxed, a bit more confident and don't have to show up here feeling like I have to find anything," Hovland told reporters Tuesday at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland.
"So that's a really good feeling. Definitely takes some toll off of me a little bit."
Hovland said the ups and downs of the past few months, including a third-place effort at the RBC Canadian Open, have helped him remain grounded.
"Spending time like wishing things didn't happen I think is futile," he said. "I do think back but mostly to try to maybe learn something. Maybe I could have done some things differently or anything that might help me in the future. But at the same time, I do think this journey, if you can call it that, is only going to help me when it comes to just knowing what not to do, what to focus on.
"I think it just kind of makes you know yourself a little bit better. Know what works for me, what doesn't work for me. I think that's just a good reminder to have, any ways, but obviously, you know, you don't always want to make mistakes to learn those lessons but here we are."
Hovland is excited for two weeks of links golf, including The Open Championship next week at Royal Birkdale. He tied for 11th in the Scottish Open last year at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, a vast improvement from his 2024 finish (46th).
"I always look forward to this time of year, and links golf is something that we don't get to play a whole lot of but every time we play it, I always leave thinking, 'Man, we should be doing more of this,'" he said.
Hovland took a break from golf to attend a World Cup game and has been closely following the progress of Norway, which defeated Brazil 2-1 on Sunday to reach the quarterfinals.
"Just seeing the sea of Norwegian jerseys doing the rowing, it was pretty special," he said. "Even (though) we were in New York, pretty far away from home, and just seeing so many Norwegians all around Times Square and New York. It was a pretty cool experience."
Hovland was asked how far he thought the team could go.
"I'm no expert analyst when it comes to football. But it does feel like even though this is a massive accomplishment for Norwegian football and just Norwegian sports in general, in a sense, we have already won. All of this is just a cherry on top," he said.
"But I think beating Brazil in the manner that it did, I think now they believed this they can beat anybody which is what they should believe and I hope we go all the way."
--Field Level Media
