Viktor Hovland can afford an extra 1,851 servings of guacamole with just one swing of the golf club after the fan favorite added a winning bank account to his winning personality during the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season.
2023 wasn't an arrival in itself for Hovland, he already had three professional victories to his name and had reached a peak of world number 3 in 2022, but it was certainly a milestone for the Norwegian.
Still, it initially looked like it would be a year of heartbreak for the 26-year-old after a string of near misses in the majors.
He held a 36-hole lead at the Masters and the PGA Championship. He started in the penultimate group with Patrick Cantlay at Augusta National, but slipped to seventh place.
The following month he set out with eventual winner Brooks Koepka in the final pairing for the final round at Oak Hill, but blinked first on the 16th with a bunker accident that painfully turned Koepka's one-shot lead into a runaway major victory .
Viktor Hovland earned a whopping $34 million during the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season
The Norwegian narrowly missed a major victory at the American PGA, won by Brooks Koepka
The 26-year-old found himself in the penultimate pair during the final round of the Masters
He also found himself in combinations late on Sunday at the US Open and the Open, where his string of major near misses arguably started the year before at St Andrews. But he left Hoylake majorless again in July with another important season over.
Hovland's season seemed to be marked by bitter disappointment. Now try telling that to his bank account.
While Hovland may not have taken home a Green Jacket or the Claret Jug this year, he banked a whopping $33,512,235 during the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season, including his prize money, FedEx bonus and Comcast Business Tour top 10 bonus
With Hovland starring in his parade of bright and colorful J. Lindeberg outfits at 23 tournaments this year, that amounts to $1,457,053 per event, according to Golf Digest.
His first check came amid his major heartbreak, when he earned $3.6 million at The Memorial after a playoff game against Denny McCarthy in June.
In fact, as he presented Hovland with the trophy, tournament host and 18-time Major-winning legend Jack Nicklaus told him, “There's nothing to do but collect a nice big check and enjoy.”
After watching Brian Harman take the honors at the final major of the year in Merseyside, England, Hovland returned to the United States, dusted himself off and prepared for the FedEx Playoffs. And that's where the big money really started rolling in.
After finishing an admirable 13th in the St. Jude Championship, Hovland headed to Chicago, where he fired three rounds in the 1960s before sealing his BMW Championship with a record final.
He earned $3.6 million at The Memorial after a playoff game against Denny McCarthy in June
Hovland greets tournament host and 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus after his victory
Hovland shot a record 61 at Olympia Fields, a former US Open venue, including a back-nine 28, to secure a mega payday of $3.6 million.
The following week he scored back-to-back victories in the Tour Championship, shooting 63 times on Sunday before holding off Xander Schauffele in a playoff.
At East Lake, Hovland finally got his big win of the year. It may not have been a big win, but it did come with a juicy $18 million bonus that should certainly soften the blow.
His big-money triumphs saw him take home a whopping $19,678 per hole, an incredible $5,142 per shot and lots of guacamole.
In 2022, Hovland, the heavy metal enthusiast with a heart of gold, was asked before the Players what difference his professional achievements have made in his life.
Hovland, a man of humble means, responded, “I didn't have to count every dollar I spent on air travel and food. That was such a big thing.
“Instead of not getting guac at Chipotle, I could get double the meat and some extra guac and not have to worry about that.”
A year later, Hovland was strolling through East Lake with a victory meal of Chipotle chips and guacamole after playing with the company's CEO at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year, and he'll probably never have to worry about the cost of extra guac ever again.
The heavy metal enthusiast won the BMW Championship and secured a mega payday of $3.6 million
He capped his year by winning an $18 million bonus at the Tour Championship in August
Of course, with his full bank account, Hovland could spend a lot more than just Mexican food, but when asked ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in November how he planned to spend his millions, the Norwegian proved why he's a favorite on Tour with a endearing answer.
“Nothing, not materialistic per se, but I took my mom on a fun trip to Malta and we hung out there and had some good food and saw some places and saw some sights, so that's cool,” he said sanely. told reporters.
At the same press conference, he showed off his affable personality as he revealed that the European Ryder Cup win in Rome meant more than his life-changing payday at the Tour Championship.
2023 was not only 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 in his first Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in 2021, Hovland was a hero to Marco Simone as the Europeans tore through the US.
He won 3-1-1, embarrassing world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Koepka 9&7 with rookie Ludvig Aberg. Along the way, he put the first point on the board during the Sunday singles and sealed the victory with an iconic photo surrounded by all the European players. WAGs.
But his highlight came on his very first hole of the tournament, where he birdied from a tight lie from the edge of the green, putting him and Aberg one ahead of Max Homa and Harman.
Not bad for a man who, after his first professional win at Mayakoba just two years earlier, said, “I'm just bad at chipping.”
He revealed that the European Ryder Cup win in Rome meant more than his huge payday
Hovland created 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 didn't appear overnight, they came with improvement.
He has risen from No. 191 in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green in 2022 to almost 100 spots to No. 93. With his work with new coach Joseph Mayo having an immediate impact on his confidence in the short game, which is seen as a big factor has acted as a catalyst in his breakthrough campaign.
He made all 23 appearances this season, with only Scheffler and Schauffele joining him. Since the FedExCup's inception in 2007, it is a feat that has only been achieved 30 times.
Hovland has easily cemented himself as one of the leading contenders for Player of the Year. Not bad for a kid from Norway, where the limited six hours of sunlight in winter dramatically limited his play time.
His father taught him to play and brought some clubs from America, where he worked, for the 11-year-old Hovland.
He turned professional as the world's No. 1 amateur after winning the low amateur honors at the Masters and US Open (pictured at the 2019 US Open)
He practiced regularly at an indoor driving range and relied on YouTube videos to develop his swing.
But his internet-made swing was enough to catch the attention of coach Alan Bratton of Oklahoma State University in the US, where he won the 2018 US Amateur and NCAA team titles.
He turned professional as the world's No. 1 amateur after winning low amateur honors at the Masters and the US Open, becoming the first man since Matt Kuchar in 1998 to achieve the feat.
And now, with the short game to match the beautiful pace of his long game and sharp iron play, Hovland could be on course to finally add a major to his millions in 2024.