It’s Viktor Hovland show in the Bahamas. The Norwegian in Albany on the island of New Providence, even after the “moving day” of the Hero World Challenge, remained at the top of the standings of the unofficial tournament of the PGA Tour.
With a total of 203 (69 70 64, -13 ) strokes, the world number 12 precedes Scottie Scheffler in the standings, 2/o – also in the world ranking – with 206 (-10). Already champion in 2021, Hovland is aiming to become the first player since 2006-2007 (Tiger Woods) to win the competition back-to-back.
Viktor Hovland, results
In the third round, Hovland was the protagonist with a run of 64 (-8), the result of ten birdies and two bogeys, on the course of the Albany GC (par 72). But the 25-year-old from Oslo must also and above all watch his back from Scheffler who, with a success, would return to number 1 in the world by ousting the Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy from the throne, absent in the Bahamas.
Where the Americans Justin Thomas and Cameron Young share the 3rd position with 208 (-8), while the Californian Collin Morikawa is 5th with 209 (-7) on a par with Xander Schauffele, gold medalist at the Tokyo Games . The event, organized with the support of the Tiger Woods foundation, has a prize of $3,500,000, of which $1,000,000 will go to the winner.
After the 2019 US Open, Hovland turned professional.[11] He played the last five regular tournaments on the PGA Tour in the 2018/2019 season thanks to sponsor invitations, but failed to make the top 125 who automatically qualified for the 2019/2020 season.
He therefore participated in the playoffs on the Korn Ferry tour, where he qualified for the PGA tour in two tournaments. Hovland delivered a very strong debut season on the PGA Tour with one victory (Puerto Rico Open in February), three top ten finishes and nine in the top 25 in a total of 20 tournaments.
He qualified for The Tour Championship and finished the season tied for 20th in the FedEx Cup with a total of $1,982,275 in prize money. Hovland finished No. 33 in the PGA Championship, the season’s only major tournament.
At the 2020 European Tour, Hovland finished 27th in the Race to Dubai rankings after third place in the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai in December. The 2020/2021 season opened with shared twelfth place in the US Open. His second career win on the PGA Tour came in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December.
Hovland finished 2020 as No. 14 in the world rankings and third in the FedEx Cup. In February 2021, Hovland was named player of the month on the European Tour after a second place in the WGC–Workday Championship and sixth place in the Saudi International.[12] In June 2021, Hovland once again made history by becoming the first male Norwegian golfer to win a tournament on the European Tour when he won the BMW International Open 2021.[13] In November, Hovland defended his title in Mayakoba, and in December he won his fifth tournament as a professional in the Hero World Challenge. Victory number six came at the Dubai Desert Classic in January 2022 after he beat Richard Bland in a replay.
