Rocket Mortgage Classic: Top 10 power rankings at Detroit GC

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DETROIT, MICHIGAN – JUNE 30: Viktor Hovland of Norway lines up a shot on the 16th hole during the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Country Club on June 30, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

All it seems like Viktor Hovland does is bank top-25 finishes. The 22-year-old Norwegian cashed another nice check last week by finishing T-11th (63-69-67-68) at the Travelers Championship. It came on the heels of a T-23rd at the Charles Schwab Challenge and a T-21st at the RBC Heritage.

In 25 worldwide starts since turning pro in 2019, Hovland has 15 top-25s. That includes a win at the 2020 Puerto Rico Open.

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy fared well at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic. He tied for the low round on Sunday en route to T-13th (70-69-70-64). Hovland was a little shaky around the greens but was otherwise solid in getting around Detroit Golf Club.

For the 2019-2020 PGA Tour season, Hovland ranks 29th in strokes gained tee to green (.848) and is in the top 12 in SG off the tee and SG approach. He’s incredibly consistent and hardly has a poor round. That’s evidenced by a 70.015 scoring average that’s 19th.

Hovland led the field in SG tee to green (2.65) last week at TPC River Highlands.

He’s particularly lethal with his irons. Hovland is 38th in proximity from 125-150 yards (21’2”), second from 150-175 (22’10”) and seventh from 150-175 (28’7”). He was third in SG approach last week (1.96).

If the Ryder Cup was to be played on schedule in 2020, I liked Hovland’s chance to make the squad. He’ll now have even more time to prove his mettle and continue the rise up the world rankings.

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