When Viktor Hovland confirmed he would join the world-class field at this week’s Genesis Scottish Open, you would have thought the first thing that came to his head was ‘I want to add a second Rolex Series title to my name’, but it could well have been ‘where am I going to grab a curry?’.
The Norwegian, who has been on a rapid rise since he broke into the golfing public’s eye with victory the 2018 US Amateur, is usually on the look out for a nice plate of India’s finest cuisine after his round – a dish he discovered on a trip to Britain early on in his career.
“I can remember my second international event that I played as a junior. I was in Scotland and I played in the European Boys’ Team Championships at Murcar Links in Aberdeen,” said Hovland.
“It was 2013, and we weren’t too big on normal British pub food, and because there are lots of Indian restaurants in England and Scotland, we decided to go to a certain place and it was the best thing I’ve ever had. Now, every time I’m in Scotland or England, or anywhere, we’re looking for an Indian place.”
With an appetite for curry as strong as it is for success, Hovland has been well on his way to eating up more titles.
The European Ryder Cup star arrives in Scotland in scintillating form, after capturing his fourth PGA TOUR victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday last month. He has three further top tens this year – including a runner up finish at the US PGA Championship and tied seventh at the Masters – and added a top 20 finish at the U.S. Open.
The success Hovland has enjoyed is quite remarkable given the fact he taught himself how to play the game by devouring countless hours of golf instruction videos on YouTube during 19 hours of daily Norwegian winter darkness.
Being the first Norwegian winner on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour has turned the 25-year-old into a household name in his home country, maybe even more so than 18-time Major champion Jack Nicklaus, who won all three of his Open Championships in Scotland.
“Not to break your ego, but I don’t think there’s too many people that know about you,” Hovland told tournament host Nicklaus in jest when he won the Memorial.
“Our season is so short. I mean, way shorter than it is over in the States. We get a lot of snow. We’re a proud ski nation. Most people, in the summer they play soccer. Yeah, so not a whole lot of golf. But I feel like the last few years it’s really ramped up and I feel like more people are getting introduced to the great game of golf and I think that’s a great thing.”
Hovland may well have some way to go in reaching the heights of Nicklaus’ career, but with his game trending in the right direction coupled with a healthy dose of curry power, you wouldn’t back against him becoming a Major champion in the not too distant future.
