Hovland Primed To Perform His Own ‘Viking Victory Rows’ Should Norway Humble England In FIFA Final Four Showdown.

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Nowegian superstar Viktor Hovland is primed to perform a Viking victory ‘rowing’ celebration of his own at the Genesis Scottish Open should his beloved nation defeat England late Saturday night (UK time), and a win that you send the red-and-blues into the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Hovland’s arrived in Scotland for this week’s $US 9m tournament brimming with confidence, not only having taken down World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in capturing the Travelers Championship, but also flying high after his home side belittled hot favouerite Brazil to qualify for the final eight in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Hovland’s Ryder Cup colleagues such as Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood are big football fans and English ace Aaron Rai smiled: “I’m sure there will be a little bit of needle!

“I saw Viktor very briefly yesterday [Monday], congratulated him on the Travelers and he’s looking forward to Saturday. I think it’s already started.

“I think it will be a very good match. Hopefully get a chance to watch it. I think it will be very close. Norway have played great this year.

“We were actually quite close to the England/Ghana game during the week of the Travelers. My caddie managed to go and watch live, which is great, but I haven’t quite managed.”

Hovland is ready for some post-quarter-final banter and added: “Yeah, we’ll see. I feel like it’s a very sensitive subject for them, so it might cut a little too deep there if I push too hard. But I hope they lose and come crying out on Sunday morning!

“I’ve always been watching the Norway games. I’m not a big football fan, in general. I don’t really keep up. I don’t know any of the players, but obviously it’s pretty patriotic to watch.

“I showed up for the game the following day but it was a really cool experience. That was my first time ever watching a football game in person and it was a great atmosphere and just seeing the sea of Norwegian jerseys doing the rowing, it was pretty special.

“Even we were in New York, pretty far way from home and just seeing so many Norwegians all around Times Square and New York. It was a pretty cool experience.

“I’m no expert analyst when it comes to football. But it does feel like even though this is a massive accomplishment for Norwegian football and just Norwegian sports in general, in a sense, we have already won. All of this is just a cherry on top.

“But I think beating Brazil in the manner that it did, I think now they believed this they can beat anybody which is what they should believe and I hope we go all the way.

“When I was at home, because I have an apartment that’s pretty close to the city, just like sitting watching the game, you can hear the screams from downtown, like there’s 100,000 people in the city just cheering and rooting for Norway. It’s really cool to see that energy and you really feel it.

“So just to be a part of that is culturally just really cool. I think Norway really needed something like this to happen. That’s really cool to be a part of and I’m going to watch the next page, that’s for sure. I’m in no position to give any sort of prediction, but I really hope our country wins, for sure.”

As mentii=oned, Hovland is looking for continued success over the weekend following his own stunning form last fortnight in Connecticut.

And Hovland’s thrilled to be joined by victorious European Ryder Cup team-mates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who are back at Renaissance having agreed deals with the DP World Tour, which allows them to compete in the event which is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour.

The trio are near certs to face the USA at Adare Manor next year and Hovland said: “I mean, it’s undeniable. They are a huge force for our team and to have them back playing these events is awesome. We’ve missed them.

“Unless something crazy happens, you would think they are going to be on that team next year. They add a lot, not just on the golf course but in the team room. They are great leaders, good personalities and just bring good vibes in the team room.

“We’ve been team-mates now for the last three Ryder Cups and I feel like that bond just kind of increases every single time.

“They seem to be playing good golf, so it should be an exciting week this week. The Scottish Open has a lot of history. There are great champions here that have won this tournament. We all really want to win this event and next week [The Open] as well.

“Obviously next week is the big one. But, to reiterate Jon’s point, this does feel like two really big events back-to-back and there’s also other excitement coming to play links golf. I think it’s one of the most fun ways to play. Any time you get to do that in a tournament, I think adds another element to it.”

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