Viktor Hovland can pay for extra guacamole 1,851 times over with just one swing of the golf club after the fan favorite added a winning bank account to his winning personality during the 2022-23 PGA Tour season.
2023 hasn’t been an arrival as such for Hovland, he already had three professional wins to his name and had reached a peak of World No. 3 back in 2022, but it was certainly a milestone for the Norwegian.
Yet, at first, it appeared it would be a year of heartbreak for the 26-year-old following a string of near misses at the majors.
He landed 36-hole leads at the Masters and the PGA Championship. Heading out in the penultimate grouping with Patrick Cantlay at Augusta National, only to slip to seventh.
The next month he headed out alongside eventual winner Brooks Koepka in the final pairing for the final round at Oak Hill, only to blink first at the 16th with a bunker mishap agonizingly turning Koepka’s one-shot lead into a runaway major win.
Viktor Hovland earned a staggering $34million through the 2022-23 PGA Tour Season
The Norwegian narrowly missed out on a major win at the US PGA , won by Brooks Koepka
The 26-year-old found himself in the penultimate pairing during the final round of the Masters
He also found himself in late-Sunday pairings at the US Open and the Open, where his run of major near-misses arguably began the year before at St. Andrews. But he left Hoylake in July majorless once again with another major season over.
Hovland’s season appeared to be defined by bitter disappointment. Try telling that to his bank account now.
While Hovland may not have taken home a Green Jacket or the Claret Jug this year, he has taken a massive $33,512,235 down to the bank across the 2022-23 PGA tour season, including his prize money, FedEx bonus and Comcast Business Tour top 10 bonus
With Hovland teeing it up in his parade of bright and colorful J. Lindeberg outfits at 23 tournaments this year, that works out at $1,457,053 per event, according to Golf Digest.
His first check came amid his major heartbreak, when he pocketed $3.6million at The Memorial following a playoff duel against Denny McCarthy in June.
While presenting Hovland with the trophy, tournament host and 18-time-major-winning legend Jack Nicklaus even told him: ‘Nowhere to go but go collect a nice big check and enjoy.’
After watching Brian Harman clinch the honors at the final major of the year in Merseyside, England, Hovland returned to the United States, dusted himself off and geared up for the FedEx Playoffs. And that’s where the big bucks really started rolling in.
After placing an admirable 13th at the St. Jude Championship, Hovland headed up to Chicago where he fired three rounds in the 60s before sealing his BMW Championship with a record final round.
He pocketed $3.6m at The Memorial following a playoff duel against Denny McCarthy in June
Hovland greets tournament host and 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus after winning
Hovland shot a record 61 at Olympia Fields, a former US Open venue, including a back-nine 28, to secure a mega payday of $3.6m.
He made it back-to-back wins the following week at the Tour Championship, shooting 63 on Sunday before holding off Xander Schauffele in a playoff.
At East Lake, Hovland finally had his big win of the year, it may not have been a major but it came with a juicy bonus of $18million, which surely had to soften the blow.
His big-money triumphs saw him pocket a massive $19,678 per hole, an incredible $5,142 per shot and a whole lot of guacamole.
Back in 2022, ahead of the Players, Hovland, the heavy-metal lover with a heart of gold, was asked what difference his professional earnings have made in his life.
Hovland, a man of simple means, responded: ‘I didn’t have to count every single dollar that I spend on air travel and food. That was like a big thing.
‘Instead of not getting guac at Chipotle, I could get double meat and some extra guac and I don’t have to worry about it.’
Fast forward a year, and Hovland was strolling around East Lake with a victory meal of Chipotle chips and guacamole, having played with the company’s CEO at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier in the year, and will likely never have to worry about the cost of extra guac ever again.
The heavy-metal lover won the BMW Championship to secure a mega payday of $3.6m
He topped off his year by winning a bonus of $18m at the Tour Championship in August
Of course, with his stacked bank account, Hovland could splash out on a lot more than Mexican food but when asked ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in November, how he intended to spend his millions, the Norwegian proved why he is a favorite on the Tour with an endearing response.
‘Nothing, not necessarily materialistic, but I took my mom on a nice trip to Malta and we went there hung out and ate good food and checked out some places and sightsee’d a little bit so that’s the stuff that’s cool,’ he wholesomely told reporters.
At the same press conference, he showed off his likable persona, when he revealed Europe’s Ryder Cup victory in Rome meant more than his life-changing payday at the Tour Championship.
2023 was not just a year of big money but also big moments for the ever-smiling Hovland – most notably the Ryder Cup, where he came into his own.
After tasting bitter defeat at his first Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in 2021, Hovland was a hero at Marco Simone as the Europeans routed the USA.
He went 3-1-1, embarrassing World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Koepka 9&7 with rookie Ludvig Aberg, putting the first point on the board during the Sunday singles along the way and sealing the win with an iconic photo surrounded by all the European WAGs.
But his crowning moment came at his very first hole of the tournament where he chipped in for birdie off a tight lie from the edge of the green to put him and Aberg up one over Max Homa and Harman.
Not bad for a man who, following his first professional win at Mayakoba just two years prior, said, ‘I just suck at chipping.’
He revealed Europe’s Ryder Cup victory in Rome meant more than his massive payday
Hovland provided an iconic moment when he posed with all the European WAGs in Rome
But that’s the main story of Hovland’s year. His millions haven’t appeared overnight, they’ve come with improvement.
He’s gone from No. 191 in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green during 2022 to jumping almost 100 places to No. 93. With his work with new coach Joseph Mayo having an instant impact on his short game confidence which has acted as a major catalyst in his breakthrough campaign.
He made the cut in all 23 appearances this season with only Scheffler and Schauffele joining him. Since the FedExCup began in 2007, it’s a feat that’s been achieved just 30 times.
Hovland has easily cemented himself as a leading contender for Player of the Year. Not bad for a kid from Norway, where the limited six hours of sunlight in winter dramatically restricted his playing time.
His dad taught him how to play, bringing back a set of clubs from America, where he worked, for 11-year-old Hovland.
He turned pro as the World’s No 1-ranked amateur after winning the low amateur honors at the Masters and US Open (pictured at the 2019 US Open)
He regularly practiced at an indoor driving range and relied on YouTube videos to develop his swing.
But his internet-crafted swing was enough to catch the eye of coach Alan Bratton at Oklahoma State University in the US where he won the 2018 US Amateur and NCAA team titles.
He turned pro as the World’s No 1-ranked amateur after winning the low amateur honors at the Masters and US Open, becoming the first man since Matt Kuchar in 1998 to achieve that feat.
And now, with the short game to match the beautiful tempo of his long game and crisp iron play, Hovland could be on track to finally add a major to his millions in 2024.
Sarah Wilson is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
