Viktor Hovland achieved the remarkable feat of landing a hole-in-one during the final day of practice ahead of the Ryder Cup, sending fans into rapturous applause as anticipation continues to build.
🚨 VIKTOR HOVLAND MAKES A HOLE-IN-ONE ON A PAR 4! #TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/OnsEG19UC6
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 28, 2023
The Norwegian holed his tee shot with a three wood at the reachable 302-yard par four fifth hole on Thursday, pitching his tee shot on the front of the green before it rolled out into the hole.
With Team Europe finalising their preparations by playing the front nine at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, the Norwegian will be hoping he can repeat more of the same once the three-day transatlantic biennial contest gets under way on Friday morning.
Once the roars were heard around the green, Hovland’s teammates Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Rose and rookie Ludvig Åberg erupted in celebration.
Hovland, who won the FedEx Cup in August, is making his second Ryder Cup appearance this week, having played in all five sessions on his debut at Whistling Straits in 2021.
On his home debut, the World Number 4, will hope his rare ace can inspire him to record his first full point after losing three and drawing two of his five ties last time out.
Speaking earlier in the week, Hovland emphasised his excitement at having the opportunity to play his part in helping Europe regain the trophy.
"It's been a great year for me," he said. Played a lot of good golf, but this is the Ryder Cup, and that all kind of goes out the window.
"You're here to perform for the team, and obviously after what happened two years ago, I think we're all pretty motivated to get the cup back to Europe.
"I think we're all just having a blast, and we're going to try to get the best out of our game as possible this week."
