2023 FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland’s career so far: Timeline explored

Viktor Hovland had a fabulous 2022–23 PGA Tour season and registered three wins. He was victorious at the mega event, the Tour Championship, to win the 2023 FedEx Cup. His staggering victory at the East Lake Golf Course fetched him a massive prize of $18 million.

However, the rise to fame on the leading American golf circuit wasn't an easy one for the Norwegian rising star.

The Oklahoma State University graduate joined the Tour in 2019, and his first appearance came at the 2019 Mayakoba Golf Classic, where he missed the cut.

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A look at Viktor Hovland's rise to fame

Now, let's look at the timeline of events that made him the star golfer he has become.

21 July 2015: In the US Junior Amateur stroke play event, the Norwegian finished just behind Brandon Mancheno. Later on, he lost to Parker Gillam.

14 October 2015: At the Spirit International Amateur, Viktor Hovland represented the Norway team and helped them finish in the top five.

6 August 2016: When he was just 18 years old, he participated in the European Amateur but lost to Italian golfer Luca Cianchetti in a seven-hole playoff.

20 March 2018: On this day, the Norwegian star won his first collegiate event after defeating Florida State’s John Pak by four strokes in the Valspar Collegiate Invitational.

30 May 2018: While playing for Oklahoma State, he defeated Lee Hodges and helped his university win its 11th NCAA Men's Golf Championship.

19 August 2018: Viktor Hovland came out victorious at the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach. He played 104 holes, which happened to be the third-lowest number of holes in the tournament's history since 1979.

29 October 2018: He won the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate, his third collegiate title, after shooting a round of 68. He also earned the medal of honor.

17 April 2019: In his first-ever major tournament, the Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club, he won the accolade of the Low Amateur after his T32 finish on the leaderboard. Soon after the event, he jumped to the top to become number one in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

20 May 2019: He won the Ben Hogan Award, the highest accolade given to a top college-level and US amateur player.

16 June 2019: Became the first player since Matt Kuchar in 1998 to win the Low Amateur title in the US Open and Masters. He finished T12 on the leaderboard and broke Jack Niklaus's lowest score, who shot 280, as an amateur.

23 June 2019: Viktor Hovland made his pro debut on the PGA Tour at the Travelers Championship. He finished T53 on the leaderboard and earned a $16,560 paycheck.

25 August 2019: After his runner-up finish at the Albertsons Boise Open, he earned his PGA Tour card for the 2019–20 season.

22 September 2019: Viktor Hovland enters the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. This happened just after a stellar T11 finish at the BMW PGA Championship.

23 February 2020: At the Puerto Rico Open, the Norwegian defeated Josh Teater by one stroke to register his first-ever win on the PGA Tour.

28 June 2020: After finishing T11 on the Travelers Championship leaderboard, he entered the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time.

18 October 2020: Entered the top 25 in the OWGR for the first time after a T12 finish at the CJ Cup.

6 December 2020: Viktor Hovland registered his second PGA Tour victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

27 June 2021: Defeated Martin Kaymer in the BMW International Open to win his maiden DP World Tour title.

1 August 2021: Hovland shot 64 in the final round of the Tokyo Olympics to finish T14 on the leaderboard; soon after that, he cracked into the top 10 in the OWGR.

21 September 2021: He becomes the first Norwegian-origin golfer to represent the European Ryder Cup. He finished with a 0-3-2 record in Wisconsin and earned his team one point.

5 December 2021: In a limited field at the Tiger Woods-hosted Hero World Challenge, Viktor Hovland won the event in his first appearance.

30 January 2022: At the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, he won his second DP World Tour title. This was also his first Rolex Series title, which came at the cost of his staggering final round of 66.

4 December 2022: Becomes the second-ever golfer after Tiger Woods to defend the title of the Hero World Challenge.

12 March 2023: At the PLAYERS Championship, he finished T3 on the leaderboard. This was also his second consecutive top-10 finish in the tournament.

9 April 2023: He finished T7 on the leaderboard, his best finish in the Masters Tournament.

21 May 2023: At the PGA Championship, Viktor Hovland finished T2 on the leaderboard, his best major finish so far. He was a 36-hole joint leader but lost to Brooks Koepka.

4 June 2023: In his 91st PGA Tour start, the Norwegian golfer registered his fourth win on the Tour at the Memorial Tournament. He defeated Denny McCarthy in a playoff and earned a whopping $3.6 million paycheck.

20 August 2023: After shooting a course record of 9 under 61 at the Olympia Fields to defeat Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler in the BMW Championship.

27 August 2023: Just a week later, after his win at Olympia Fields, Viktor Hovland claimed the prestigious FedEx Cup after winning the Tour Championship against Xander Schauffele. This was his career's biggest win till now.