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Viktor Hovland's victory at the 2023 BMW Championship helped him secure a spot in the European Ryder Cup team. The Norwegian then had a quick exchange with Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy after carding a birdie on the 18th hole on Sunday, August 20.
McIlroy and Hovland will both compete for the European team at the biennial event, which will be held in Rome, Italy, from September 29 to October 1.
The PGA Tour recently released footage of Hovland and McIlroy discussing the Ryder Cup at Olympia Fields Country Club. After the Nowergein golfer won the FedEx Cup event on Sunday, McIlroy complimented him, and Hovland responded, saying:
"Rome's gonna be fun."
Fans also jumped into the comments section to talk about the European team. They wrote:
"A European team is starting to form, whilst a group of individuals once again are lining up for the USA."
"Well if they play team USA and not team US PGAT, it should be interesting."
"Rome is the place! Start practising Italian never mind the golf!"
Here are some more fans' reactions:
It is pertinent to note that so far Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Viktor Hovland have qualified for the 2023 European Ryder Cup team.
Viktor Hovland's performance at the 2023 BMW Championship
Hovland started the 2023 BMW Championship on Thursday, August 17, with two back-to-back birdies on the first two holes and added one more on the ninth. He made two bogeys on the back nine to score 69 on Thursday.
He put in an improved performance in the second round when he birdied the fourth and fifth holes and then added another birdie on the seventh followed by a bogey on the ninth hole. Hovland made one bogey and one birdie on the back nine to score 68.
He started the third round with an amazing eagle on the first hole before making a birdie on the third hole and other birdies on the seventh and eighth holes. He started the second half of the game with two back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th and then another birdie on the 18th hole. He also made a bogey on the 16th hole to settle with a score of 65.
Hovland played the best round of the tournament on Sunday, August 20. He started the final round with a birdie on the first hole followed by another birdie on the third hole and then on the fifth hole.
He carded a bogey on the seventh hole, which was fortunately his only bogey of the round. In the second half of the game on Sunday, Hovland went on to make three consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th, and 12th holes and added two more birdies on the 14th and 15th holes. He also made two birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to finish with a score of 61.
Viktor Hovland settled with a score of 17 under 263 to win the tournament. Matt Fitzpatrick settled in the second position with Scottie Scheffler followed by Rory McIlroy.
