"Every single ball you hit is life or death" - Viktor Hovland on his 2021 Ryder Cup experience

Viktor Hovland had a dreamlike season on the PGA Tour in 2022-23. He ended up with two consecutive victories at the BMW Championship and Tour Championship. He currently stands in fourth place in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Hovland will be part of the Luke Donald-led European team for the 44th edition of the Ryder Cup later in September. He will play alongside World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and the reigning Masters Champion Jon Rahm against Team United States at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy.

Speaking to The 73rd Hole Apple podcast recently, Viktor Hovland shared his experience of the 2021 edition of the biennial event that his team lost. The 25-year-old said:

"It was an unbelievably stressful situation to be in. Because it feels like every single shot you hit is life or death basically. And to be completely honest, I did not putt pretty well last Ryder Cup and I did not chip the ball really well. I hit the ball really nicely and I felt like my game was on a really good spot."

Viktor Hovland said he was not able to chip the ball well enough, adding that he could not capitalize on the clutch moments where the putts were really important.

"But, it was hard to take points on the board and have those clutch moments. When I didn't have a short game that I completely trusted. I just didn't make enough putts. And it's... it's hard. I mean, we hear about, no matter how important that is, it really makes the difference," Hovland added.

The Norwegian golfer was also asked about how it feels to be the host of the Ryder Cup this year and the pressure involved with it. He said he saw statistics that said that the European team has not lost on home soil since 1993. Despite the pressure, they would try to play better and win the cup.

"I think Team Europe has a slight chip on our shoulders. But, at the same time, we are playing at home and I think I saw a stat that we have not lost at home since 1993. So, I guess there is some pressure there as well," Hovland said.

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How did Viktor Hovland perform at the 2021 Ryder Cup?

The newly crowned FedEx Cup champion had a disastrous outing in his first-ever appearance for the European team in the 43rd edition of the event. Although he contributed to his team with one point that came with two halved matches, he had an overall record of 0-3-2 (W-L-H).

Viktor Hovland paired with Paul Casey on the first day of the 2021 Ryder Cup and lost to Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa in the foursome match. This was followed by a tied match, where he teamed up with Tommy Fleetwood against Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay in the afternoon fourball match.

On the second day, he paired with Bernd Wiesberger and lost a foursome match against United States' Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. He again paired with Fleetwood in the afternoon fourball match against Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau and ended up losing 3 and 1.

Viktor Hovland faced Collin Morikawa in a singles match on the final day. The duo went on to tie the match and earned 0.5 points each for their respective teams.