Has Viktor Hovland won the Valspar Championship before? 2025 winner’s history explored

No, Viktor Hovland had not previously won the Valspar Championship prior to his win on Sunday, March 23. For the Norwegian golfer, it was his first title at the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course and his second PGA TOUR triumph since his 2023 FedExCup victory.

Hovland was not only battling his swing, but missed three straight cuts. Desperate for answers, he rejoined swing coach Grant Waite just days before the tournament and while the decision was not the only reason, it was a key factor in his victory.

But Hovland got it going at the Copperhead Course. He started the final round tied for the lead but was three shots behind Justin Thomas with five holes to play. That’s when his game clicked.

The decisive moment arrived when Hovland rolled in a birdie on the par-5 14th, then hit a dazzling 7-iron approach on the par-4 16th and set his ball just five feet from the hole. He made the birdie putt, tying Thomas at the top of the leaderboard. One hole later, he struck another incredible iron shot to reach the par-3 17th in 12 feet for birdie, which he calmly converted to take a one-shot lead.

Thomas, who had been brilliant until then, stumbled late. He bogeyed the 16th and 18th holes, giving Hovland the victory. He said afterwards, via Associated Press:

“It’s been quite the struggle the past year-and-a-half, so for me to come back and win this tournament is quite incredible,” Hovland said after his win. “I was not very hopeful with my game leading into this week. Just goes to show this game is pretty crazy.”

Viktor Hovland's seventh PGA TOUR title showed that he can be consistent on this stage and that recent struggles were just something he could absorb as one of the world's best professionals.

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A look at the winners of the last 10 editions of the Valspar Championship

Over the last decade, the Valspar Championship has witnessed triumphant debuts of winners as well as their return. Viktor Hovland claimed his first Valspar title in 2025, defeating Justin Thomas by a stroke to finish at 11-under. The previous year, 2024, Peter Malnati won by two strokes over Cameron Young at 12-under.

Taylor Moore earned his first PGA TOUR title in 2023, defeating Adam Schenk by one stroke at -10. The two editions before that were thoroughly dominated by Sam Burns, who captured consecutive titles in 2021 and 2022. He beat Keegan Bradley by three shots in 2021 and Davis Riley in a playoff in 2022 — each time shooting 17 under.

The 2020 tour was canceled due to the pandemic, but before that, Paul Casey made his mark when he won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. He had previously edged out Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed in 2018, and topped Jason Kokrak and Louis Oosthuizen in 2019.

• 2025: Viktor Hovland
• 2024: Peter Malnati
• 2023: Taylor Moore
• 2022: Sam Burns
• 2021: Sam Burns
• 2020: Canceled
• 2019: Paul Casey
• 2018: Paul Casey
• 2017: Adam Hadwin
• 2016: Charl Schwartzel