Warren Little/Getty Viktor Hovland at the 2023 PGA Championship.
Viktor Hovland is a PGA Tour golfer from Norway. He is the son of Harald Hovland and Galina Hovland. The 25-year-old Norwegian was born September 18, 1997, in Oslo, Norway, and attended Oklahoma State University, according to his biography on the PGA Tour website.
Hovland, who has three career wins on the PGA Tour, entered the final round of the PGA Championship in 2023 in contention for his first major championship. Hovland, who turned pro in 2019, has made $16.7 million in career earnings during his time on the PGA Tour website, according to his bio. He lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma, according to the PGA website.
Here’s what you need to know about Viktor Hovland’s family:
1. Viktor Hovland’s Mother, Galina Hovland, Called in a Rules Infraction on Her Son During the 2021 Players Championship
In 2021, Hovland’s mom, Galina Havland, called in a rules infraction on her own son, according to Golf.com. Hovland was docked two strokes after his mom called him and notified him of his error.
According to PGATour.com, “Hovland’s score went from 70 to 72 after he was docked for inadvertently playing his ball from the wrong spot on the green at the par-4 15th hole,” during the first round at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
2. Viktor Hovland’s Father, Harald Hovland, Is a Retired Engineer
Viktor Hovland’s dad, Harald Hovland, was an engineer and would travel to the U.S. for work, according to Golf Digest. He helped introduce his son to the game.
According to the 2021 Golf Digest article, “That Hovland was even swinging a golf club as a high schooler was an act of providence. His father, Harald, had spent a year as a visiting engineer on a project in St. Louis and had bought some clubs during that stretch to kill time at a practice range that was on his way to work. When the year was up, he brought a junior set of clubs back to Norway for his son to try, and by age 11, Viktor was committed.”
Hovland told Dormy.com, “I grew up on Grønmo Golf Club which is 10 minutes from where I lived as a child. It was a great environment with lots of juniors of my age who liked playing golf and when I could see that I was improving every year, I found it enjoyable to continue. I’ve always just really loved playing golf.”
3. Viktor Hovland Says His Parents Are ‘Happy People’
Warren Little/Getty Viktor Hovland at the 2023 PGA Championship.
In 2022, Hovland, when asked about his signature smile, told Masters.com, “My mom and dad are pretty happy people. … Norway, is a pretty happy country.” He added, “I would say I am,” very happy, “I enjoy a lot of things in life. I try to look forward to the things I want to do.”
Hovland added when asked about what he thinks is more important to his success, his skills on the course or his mental toughness, he said, “Hard to answer. I feel like they kind of go hand in hand. If you’re playing well, it’s easy to be mentally strong. But if you don’t have a certain skill set, you can’t wish yourself to suddenly be good at it.”
He told Dormy.com, “Living here in the US it’s very easy to… well I wouldn’t say forget where you’re from… but of course the US is very different to Norway and Sweden. I’m enjoying working with J.Lindeberg apparel from Sweden and Ping clubs which you could say are from Norway. Having things that keep me connected to where I come from makes it a little more unique.”
4. Viktor Hovland Has Had His Family’s Support During His Rise From Amateur Champion to One of the Top Pro Golfers in the World
Viktor Hovland has had the support of his family during his rise on the PGA Tour after turning pro in 2019. The former Oklahoma State Cowboys star posted a photo on Instagram with his parents and other relatives, including Mats Eriksen Hovland, in 2019 while he was playing at The Masters in Augusta, Georgia.
Hovland wrote in the caption, “Nice to see the family again in Augusta!”
Hovland made the difficult decision to leave his family in Norway to play college golf in Oklahoma, telling The Oklahoman in 2018, ““You see all those players, (like) Rickie Fowler, pretty much everyone out there on tour. They went to college. That kind of opened doors. That’s kind of how I thought about it. Go there and get better. If I do well in college, that means I’m getting ready for the PGA Tour.”
5. Viktor Hovland Is Not Married & Has Not Talked Publicly About His Dating Life
Viktor Hovland is not married and he has not talked on social media or elsewhere about his dating life. Various rumors about a possible girlfriend have not been confirmed.
Hovland lives in Oklahoma near where he attended college, according to public records. Hovland owns a $370,000 home in Stilwater that he bought in 2019, according to records viewed by Heavy.
When asked about his style and the J.Lindeberg clothes he wears, he told Hype Beast in 2023, “It’s kind of interesting because obviously I’m from Norway and I would say Scandinavia is usually on the fashion side, very kind of moving forward and trendy and that’s why I think JL has been so popular back home. I live now in Oklahoma, which is completely opposite, very traditional … So I’ve kind of experienced both sides. But it’s been really cool to see even my friends and people in Oklahoma and just generally in the United States seeing that JL has got some really cool stuff.”