Viktor Hovland leaps past Justin Thomas, others in world ranking after Valspar Championship win

Viktor Hovland has made a long jump in the world ranking after winning the 2025 Valspar Championship. The Norwegian golfer competed at the recently concluded PGA Tour event and emerged victorious by one stroke over Justin Thomas.

With the victory, he earned $1.56 million in prize money and also gained in the ranking points. Viktor Hovland has jumped over ten spots in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). He was ranked number 19 last week and is currently ranked eighth in the world, ahead of Justin Thomas, who is ranked ninth, and Tommy Fleetwood (10).

Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler still maintains his dominance and is currently ranked number one in the world, followed by Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, who won two PGA Tour events in 2025 but missed the Valspar Championship.

Xander Schauffele competed in the Valspar Championship but settled in T12 place. He is ranked third in the world, followed by Collin Morikawa and Ludvig Åberg, the 2025 Genesis Invitational winner. Hideki Matsuyama, the winner of the 2025 PGA Tour season opener The Sentry, is ranked sixth in the world, ahead of Russell Henley and Viktor Hovland.

Here are the current top 30 golfers in the OWGR:

• 1. Scottie Scheffler
• 2. Rory McIlroy
• 3. Xander Schauffele
• 4. Collin Morikawa
• 5. Ludvig Åberg
• 6. Hideki Matsuyama
• 7. Russell Henley
• 8. Viktor Hovland
• 9. Justin Thomas
• 10. Tommy Fleetwood
• 11. Wyndham Clark
• 12. Shane Lowry
• 13. Sepp Straka
• 14. Keegan Bradley
• 15. Patrick Cantlay
• 16. Maverick McNealy
• 17. Tyrrell Hatton
• 18. Robert MacIntyre
• 19. Bryson DeChambeau
• 20. Billy Horschel
• 21. Akshay Bhatia
• 22. Sahith Theegala
• 23. Corey Conners
• 24. Sungjae Im
• 25. Aaron Rai
• 26. Thomas Detry
• 27. J.J. Spaun
• 28. Lucas Glover
• 29. Nick Taylor
• 30. Tom Kim

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Viktor Hovland's three-word message sums up his long-awaited PGA Tour Victory

Hovland was all in the headlines back in 2023 when he surprised everyone with his thrilling performance on the PGA Tour. He won two back-to-back FedEx Cup Playoffs, including the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship in 2023.

But since then, it has been a tough journey for him, particularly last season. He had a really tough time on the greens in the 2024 season when he played in 16 events and could only record two finishes in the top 10.

But last week's Valspar Championship 2025 brought some relief after the long struggle. Viktor Hovland shared a picture with his trophy on his Instagram account along with the caption that said:

"Stupid, stupid game"

Prior to this week, Viktor Hovland had a horrible time on the PGA Tour. He missed three back-to-back cuts at The Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and The Players Championship but finally made a comeback at the Valspar Championship.