Who’s better since the restart than Daniel Berger?
By Bill Felber
T-7. Viktor Hovland, -0.43
Hovland came to the Tour as a touted phenom out of Oklahoma State, and has done little to change that impression. His 18 Tour starts since the restart include his first career victory, at the Mayakoba in November.
He won it with a four-round score of 264 that translated to 2.1 standard deviations better than that week’s field average.
The best thing about Hovland’s performance card is that he has not missed a cut since the restart. Beyond his Mayakoba win, he tied for second at the Farmers and took a solo third at the Workday in July.
Those three top 10s are enhanced by seven other top 20s.
His scoring average since the restart is 69.35. He stands 13th in the Official World Golf ranking and is fifth on the FedEx Cup list.
Hovland has displayed an unusual consistency for a young player: he’s 23. Only eight of his 72 rounds since the restart ended with scores higher than 72, only four higher than 74. He has six rounds below 66, including weekend rounds of 63-65 at his Mayakoba victory.
Considering that Hovland is less than two seasons into his professional career, he’s laying a superb groundwork for a productive Tour life.