Norway’s Viktor Hovland wins Amateur Tournament

The U.S. Amateur Championship wrapped on Sunday with a win from Viktor Hovland of Norway.

The Junior from Oklahoma State, and first Norwegian to win the tournament, has been playing golf since he was three-years-old. He has chased this dream ever since.

After the win, Hovland was left speechless. “I always thought I had a pretty good vocabulary, but uh, I’m lost. I’m lost for words. I mean, it’s really special,” said Hovland.

Runner-up, Devon Bling, is a California Native. The UCLA Sophomore says he wishes the tournament would have ended differently, but said the support he had made all the difference.

“I had friends and family and teammates and, you know, there’s people crowded in restaurants back in Ridgecrest watching and I could feel all the support, and it was great. It was great to have all of that,” said Bling.

Hovland and Bling will both return to play Pebble in the U.S. Open next year. It is there that they will take on some of the world’s best professional golfers.

Locals Helen and Dean Turner said they are already looking forward to watch the final amateur pair compete on the big stage next year.

“We will plan to be here. It’s a big event so we’ll probably come over,” said Helen.

Hovland said he looks to past U.S. Open winner as inspiration. He hopes that one day, he can accomplish what they have at Pebble Beach.

“Hopefully after winning this tournament I can kinda start building on that resume and get myself a picture on that wall,” said Hovland.