Viktor Hovland is in a unique position heading into the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill. He is seeking his first major championship win, and he's been in contention to win each of the last three major championship tournaments played.
Hovland is from Norway. While players from Scandinavia (namely, Sweden) have won major championships in golf, Hovland would be making a bit of history were he to win the Wanamaker Trophy.
Has a golfer from Norway ever won a major championship?
Hovland would not be the first major championship winner in golf from Norway. Suzann Pettersen won two major titles in her LPGA Tour career. She won what was then the McDonald's LPGA Championship (now the KPMG Women's PGA Championship) in 2007 and took the Evian Championship in 2013.
However, no male golfer has ever won a major championship in golf.
Hovland does hold the best finish by a Norwegian male golfer in a major championship, when he finished tied for fourth place in the 2022 Open Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. Hovland had a share of the 54-hole lead with Rory McIlroy but was unable to close the deal, as Cam Smith won his first major title with an incredible Sunday back nine.
Norway's neighbor, Sweden, boasts a single male major championship winner in Henrik Stenson. On the women's side, Annika Sorenstam won 10 majors in her career. Anna Nordqvist has won three majors, while Helen Alfredsson has won one, along with Pernilla Lindberg and Lisalotte Neumann.
