Viktor Hovland, administer a rising race |The Economist

The average age of the top 20 ranked players on the PGA Tour is 29.7, but Viktor Hovland, defending champion of the Mayakoba Golf Classic, is a young man who defies that statistic. The Norwegian and the American Collin Morikawa are the only 24-year-old players on that list, the youngest and least experienced in professionalism.

Hovland turned professional in 2019 and since then has won two PGA titles (Mayakoba Golf Classic and Puerto Rico Open, both in 2020) and one international (BMW International Open), plus $7.8 million in prize money. Currently, he is ranked 17th in the PGA rankings.

Still in his early days in professional golf, Viktor admires players like Charles Howell and Adam Scott, who have spanned their careers for more than two decades.

“There are a lot of guys here that I look up to in terms of their careers. Charles Howell has been around for 20 years and has been successful every one of them, consistently and how he handles the game coupled with the business is impressive. Adam Scott too, with the longevity of his career and how he's super competitive, I think that's very admirable," Hovland told El Economista.

Viktor's role modeling consistency occurs on and off the golf course. Scott has been a professional for 21 years and for most of that time has been accompanied by three key partners: luxury watch giant Rolex, Japanese clothing group Uniqlo and golf equipment maker Titleist. His economic prizes and income from sponsorships have placed him on different lists of the highest paid characters.

American Charles Howell III is considered one of the most consistent players in the game, having just started his 22nd season on tour and in his career has earned more than $41 million on the PGA Tour despite only owning three victories. His endorsement portfolio includes brands like Titleist, FootJoy, Lexus, FTI Consulting, Flexjet and Reynolds Lake Oconee.

Since its inception, Hovland's career has stood out, rising to number 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and making history as the first Norwegian to win the U.S. Golf Ranking. Amateur (2018) and also the first to compete in The Masters (2019).

Commercially it is sponsored by the Swedish clothing company J. Lindeberg, the American PING, Cisco, Slync.io, E-Z-GO, MasterCard and Audemars Piguet. The player shared that he concentrates on golf, while commercial responsibilities are delegated to a work team that is in charge of managing this facet of his career.

In addition to feeling a noticeable evolution in his game and confidence in the work he has done in recent months, Hovland will play for the fifth time in Mayakoba, which gives him confidence to endorse the title. One of the big differences compared to last year has to do with the experience he has gained by adding more tournaments to his resume, since this year he played the Ryder Cup for the first time and added other major tournaments.

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