Viktor Hovland earns a Major milestone after US Open third-place finish despite no wins

Viktor Hovland had another quality outing at the US Open, but he's still searching for his first title. It was one of his closest calls, but he came up short by four strokes. That was good enough to finish alone in third place, though.

That gives him a top-10 finish in every single Major championship. He still has yet to win, but he's only 27 and has been a professional golfer since 2019, so he's still very inexperienced.

However, he's quickly shown an ability to perform, if not win, at the highest level. His third-place US Open outing goes along with a T7 at the 2023 Masters, a T2 at the 2023 PGA Championship (and a third-place -18 showing in 2024 at the same tournament), and a T4 at the 2022 Open Championship.

Hovland, like many, fought a difficult course at Oakmont. JJ Spaun, the winner, was the only player below par. Reigning champion Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut. Rory McIlroy, the second-place finisher from 2024, finished seven over par.

Hovland also struggled in the conditions, like many did on Sunday. Those in the morning avoided the worst of it, but the brutal afternoon rain caused a delay. Hovland was three over for the day, thanks in no small part to the weather and the course.

---

Viktor Hovland optimistic after US Open performance

Viktor Hovland has undergone a lot of ups and downs recently. He's changed coaches multiple times in an attempt to get back to top form. He won the 2023 Tour Championship but has struggled a lot since then.

Viktor Hovland is encouraged by his outing (Image via Imagn)

He broke through with a win in 2025, but he's still not pleased with his overall play. That said, he's optimistic that a decent finish at such a hard golf course bodes well.

He said via NBC Sports:

“I’ve been tearing myself down a little too much. Even though I do know I need to work on some stuff and get back to where I used to be in a way, mechanically, but in the interim, I can still perform at a really high level, and there’s a lot of good stuff.”

He added that he "saw a lot" when he was paired with eventual winner JJ Spaun during the final round. Oakmont reared its head all weekend, giving everyone, even the top-ranked golfers in the world and the betting favorites, a difficult four rounds of golf.

Viktor Hovland believes he's trending back towards that 2023 form. Many of his best Major performances came back then, so that could be a good sign for his prospects of actually coming home with a title. So far, he has seven titles in his career.