Viktor Hovland Third Player Confirmed For European Ryder Cup Team

Viktor Hovland has joined Rory Mcilroy and Jon Rahm on the list of players confirmed for Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team.

The Norwegian has qualified thanks to his standing of third on the World Points list behind Rahm and McIlroy, who qualified via their positions in the European Points list.

Hovland has enjoyed an excellent season, with the highlight being his win in The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in June.

However, that was far from his only noteworthy performance, with his form in Majors particularly impressive. The included a T7 at The Masters and a T2 at the PGA Championship. Other standout performances included a tie for fifth at the first qualifying event, the 2022 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, and a T3 at The Players Championship in March.

The match at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome will mark Hovland’s second Ryder Cup appearance after he featured in the defeat to the US at Whistling Straits in 2021. In that match, Hovland, along with Rahm, was one of only two European players to appear in all five sessions, finishing with a 0–3–2 record.

With Europe on home soil this time, and with Hovland becoming the third player in the world’s top five confirmed for Team Europe, he will be confident his second appearance will bring better fortunes.

Three more players are yet to qualify automatically for Donald’s team with Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood occupying the remaining positions as things stand. Donald will then make his six captain's picks that will complete his team of 12 for the match that starts on 29 September.  

As for Donald’s counterpart, Team USA captain Zach Johnson, two of his team are confirmed so far, with Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark having already secured automatic qualification.