Viktor Hovland has already tasted success at Pebble Beach. He won the US Amateur there in 2018, setting the stage for what has been a successful professional career so far. He has three PGA Tour wins and is hungry for a fourth at a place he loves.
However, Hovland is playing for a whole lot more than the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am trophy and the big check that comes with winning on the Monterey peninsula. Hovland is looking to win Chipotle for life.
This week, Hovland's pro-am partner is Brian Niccol, who is the CEO of the fast-casual restaurant chain known for their burritos, bowls and more. Niccol is playing off a 7 index this week in the pro-am portion of the event. Meanwhile, in the pro event, Hovland finds himself three shots off the lead with Pebble Beach Golf Links coming on Saturday as his last round in the three-course rotation before a cut to the top 60 and ties that will be back on Pebble on Sunday.
Earlier in his career, Hovland said one of the big perks of making a good living on the PGA Tour is being able to get guacamole -- which, did you know, costs a little bit extra -- on his Chipotle burritos.
"Instead of not getting guac at Chipotle, I can get double meat," Hovland said last year at The Genesis Invitational.
Now, Hovland sees the possibility of getting free, unlimited Chipotle for a year -- if he plays his game right this weekend.
"Obviously playing with the man himself. So trying to get that gold card by the end of the week," Hovland said Thursday. "That's the goal. So, no, we're having a blast."
Were it not for Niccol playing in the pro-am, Hovland probably wouldn't even be playing this week.
"I didn't have a really a plan to play this week. So when I just looked on the list and saw Brian's name on there I figured that, yeah, that would be kind of funny," he said.
Hovland remains a big Chipotle fan, and his go-to order these days is "rice, chicken or beef, and fajitas, some corn, lettuce and guac." That's a little different than his old order when he was a hungry, not-so-wealthy college kid.
"I would get like guac, double meat and double rice and just send the whole bowl and make it a tower basically," he said. "But now I don't eat as much. Before I would get, definitely not get guac and, yeah, just like chicken or something. Just try to make it $7.50 I think it ended up being my order. So, yeah, trying to save some money."
