Sam Torrance: Viktor Hovland hitting new heights is a Ryder Cup boost for Europe
Viktor Hovland was nothing short of magnificent in beating a stacked field to win the BMW Championship on Sunday – and that’s more great news for Europe ahead of the Ryder Cup next month in Italy.
The Norwegian had to be at the top of his game to leapfrog in-form overnight leaders Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick on the final day but his brilliant round of 61, which included just 28 shots on the back nine, was more than good enough.
As he acknowledged himself, it was probably the best he has ever played, especially when you consider the quality of the field at FedEx Cup Playoff events.
Hovland is in superb form and that’s testament to how hard he works. I watched a video clip of him practising recently and I liked what I saw. His swing is improving all the time.
The 25-year-old is young, strong and fearless and his future is very bright. You have to think that majors are on the horizon sooner rather than later.
Before then Hovland could win the FedEx Cup for the first time, with the concluding tournament, the Tour Championship, due to take place this week in Atlanta. His latest win lifted him to second in the standings behind Scheffler, with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm also in the running.
He has already shown the golfing world how good he is so he has very little to prove, but it would be a big feather in his cap, quite apart from the $18m (£14m) prize.
It would also be a useful boost ahead of facing the US at the Ryder Cup in a few weeks’ time. He has put himself in a fantastic position and it would be great for the team if a European player beat the Americans on their own soil in the PGA Tour finale.
Whatever happens, Europe’s team is already building very nicely. McIlroy is playing great, showing a bit of Tiger Woods in him with shots that people just watch in awe.
Rory has made no secret of chasing the double double – winning the FedEx Cup and its European equivalent, the Race to Dubai, in the same year for a second time – and I like that. Fitzpatrick also had another very good week.
The US team, meanwhile, is taking shape. Max Homa and Xander Schauffele’s top-10 finishes on Sunday in Illinois saw them secure automatic places, joining Scheffler, Open champion Brian Harman, US Open winner Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay.
That leaves US PGA champion Brooks Koepka needing a wild card pick, and it remains to be seen whether he and other players who joined LIV Golf will be considered by US captain Zach Johnson.
Koepka should be in the team on quality, but rules are rules and we don’t know exactly what the American players were told about their Ryder Cup participation if they joined LIV Golf. Europe’s DP World Tour was very clear.
I’ve said all along that the exodus to LIV Golf would hurt the American Ryder Cup team more than Europe. I’m not sure any of the European players who joined would have made the team, but Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed surely would.
The effect on Europe has instead been to lose three incredible potential future captains in Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood. Now that all of the tours are set to come together, hopefully that situation can change and they can rightfully take up one of the highest honours that the game has to offer.
Sam Torrance OBE is a former Ryder Cup-winning captain and one of Europe’s most successful golfers. Follow him @torrancesam