Viktor Hovland stays hot, wins Tour Championship, FedEx Cup - ESPN

ATLANTA — When Oklahoma State golf coach Alan Bratton was recruiting Viktor Hovland in 2015, he remembers Hovland telling him that he couldn't wait to get to the United States and hit balls off grass.

«I remember thinking that was a phrase I'd never burped out of my mouth,» Bratton said. «I couldn't relate to it.»

Bratton didn't grow up trying to play an outdoor sport in Oslo, Norway.

The Scandinavian country known more for downhill skiing and snowboarding is now home to the hottest golfer on the planet after Hovland won the Tour Championship by 5 strokes over Xander Schauffele at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday. Hovland carded a 7-under 63 in the final round.

Hovland started the staggered-scoring event at 8 under and shot 19 under on his own to finish 27 under. He was 11 shots better than U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark, who finished third, and 13 better than Rory McIlroy, who was fourth.

It was Hovland's second straight victory after he captured the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields, Illinois, last week. His latest victory came with the FedEx Cup and an $18 million bonus. Hovland, 24, earned $21.6 million the past two weeks.

«The list of names that's been on that trophy is pretty special,» Hovland said. «Obviously, it's maybe not a marathon, but it feels more like a sprint. Obviously, it's a marathon getting into this week. But it's hard to win the FedEx Cup if you haven't played well the last few weeks. It's just a great list of names that's won the tournament.»

Hovland joins the likes of past FedEx Cup champions Tiger Woods, McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and others.

Hovland's path to East Lake Golf Club was one of the most unlikely. He didn't start playing golf until he was 11. His father, Harald, worked as an