Viktor Hovland: Ryder Cup memories bigger than winning $18m FedEx Cup

Viktor Hovland's career-best season was highlighted by two significant achievements, but if the Norwegian was given the option of only winning the $18 million FedEx Cup or the Ryder Cup with Team Europe – for which he got paid nothing – there is really no contest.

"Ryder Cup was awesome," Hovland, 26, said. "Obviously winning the Tour Championship [FedEx Cup] was more important for my career but the memories from Rome, I'm going to remember those moments for a lot longer and those memories are a lot stronger than the Tour Championship. Everything was just perfect for our perspective that week."

For Hovland, those memories started on his very first hole at Marco Simone, when he chipped in with one of the shots of the tournament to send hundreds of fans surrounding the green, and millions watching around the world, into raptures.

That set the tone for a superb Ryder Cup performance as Hovland won three-and-a-half points from a possible five to help Europe dominate the United States, two years after being on the end of a historic beatdown in Wisconsin.

Hovland's form in Rome was a surprise to precisely no one. He arrived as the form player in world golf following successive titles at the BMW Championship and Tour Championship which pocketed him that cool $18m to conclude a PGA Tour season that included another victory at the prestigious Memorial.

At the majors, Hovland knocked on the door once again with a tied-second at the PGA Championship and tied-seventh at The Masters. He finished in the top 20 at the other two, The Open and the US Open. The wait for a first major may go on, but it is surely only a matter of time.

For now, though, the focus is on ending the DP World Tour season with another title at the DP World Tour