Before Viktor Hovland reached high school in Oslo, Norway, his mother discovered from talking to friends that college scholarships for golfers were available in America. That planted a seed.
Hovland was a promising Norwegian junior player, and the established path for Norway golfers was to stay in Scandinavia and play a couple of levels. “Very easy if you live in Norway or you live in Europe,” Hovland said. “I felt I needed to go out of my comfort zone.”
Alan Bratton first spotted Hovland at the European Boys Team Championships in Scotland in 2013. Bratton had just been named head coach at Oklahoma State and was scouting Kris Ventura, another Norwegian who eventually ended up a Cowboy.