Viktor Hovland’s form returns, with just Scottie Scheffler standing in way at Travelers Championship

Erling Haaland is one of the beautiful game’s most beautiful scorers. The Norwegian superstar is a dominating force in the Premier League, and at just 25, he is already the country’s greatest at putting the ball in the back of the net.

Viktor Hovland is close in age – but certainly not in height – to Haaland. But he’s been just as enamored as any Norwegian at the success of his countryman of late at the World Cup. And while Hovland is the country’s best-ever male golfer already (Suzann Pettersen is certainly on top of the podium on the women’s side), he can appreciate what kind of effort it takes to get to the top.

Buoyed by Norway's early World Cup successes and the ongoing fan support – more on the celebratory "row" later – Hovland is staring down the best player in golf and holds a one-shot advantage on Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship heading into Sunday’s finale.

“It was really fun. Just had a great time. You know, it's been a while since I've been in this position,” Hovland said of his Saturday 64. “To go head-to-head against the best player in the world and pull off some great shots, it was just a lot of fun.”

Hovland won last year’s Valspar Championship, breaking a two-year winless drought. He has two top-10 finishes so far this season, but withdrew from the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday after missing the cut at the PGA Championship. He also missed the cut at last week’s U.S. Open. Between that, however, he finished solo third at the RBC Canadian Open, his best result of 2026 and in his debut in Canada.

“Obviously, a couple of weeks ago I finished third in Canada and felt like I was on the right track and just scored horribly last week and just didn't feel super comfortable,” Hovland admitted. “I had a couple of really bad misses but was seeing a lot of progress. So then getting into this week, I feel like I could easily turn it into a really good week.

“I don't know. It's a crazy game.”

Hovland said he’s been laser-like on his process through the week. The score matters little, he said, but he’s obviously been thrilled at the numbers he’s seen when he’s added everything up at the end of the day.

“As soon as I find a certain feel that I can trust and it produces a pretty reliable shot shape, I know that I'm going to be able to score pretty well from there. So, if I happen to shoot 2 under or 6 under or 9 under, it's like that's not the most important thing, in a way. It's like as soon as I see the shots that I'm trying to hit and execute, that's what gives me the confidence,” Hovland said. “Then it's all a bonus on top being able to do it at this stage and in front of that many people.”

Ah, yes. The people.

With World Cup fever sweeping North America, the fans from Norway have taken their now-iconic “rowing” celebration to the biggest cities on the continent.

“We’re Vikings,” Hovland said with a smile about the rowing, “It’s kind of in our DNA.

“It's kind of funny. That's the first time I've ever seen it. I think that's the first time we've ever done it, especially in the World Cup. It took us 1,000 years to figure it out. Yeah, I think it's pretty cool.”

Hovland hasn’t quite given a global audience the same number of accomplishments to cheer about like his soccer-star countryman, Haaland, but come Sunday, another TOUR win – especially one over Scheffler – will perhaps give pause to the soccer celebrations to let the Norway faithful focus on golf.

“Scottie and I have played a lot, and I'd like to think of most of the guys in this field, we are professionals, and it shouldn't matter too much who we play with, but it does matter a little bit. We have a good rapport, and I think we both have a lot of respect for each other's games,” Hovland said. “Scottie and I have separated ourselves from the rest of the field, but at the same time, 14- or 15-under is still very much in this thing if they go and shoot a very low score tomorrow.”

Hovland is in the best position, however, to row right across the finish line.