“Not quite the same thing” – Viktor Hovland on whether the Hero Cup is a preparation for Rome

Viktor Hovland won the 2022 Hero World Challenge on Sunday. The Norwegian golfer defended his title by edging past Scottie Scheffler. With this, Hovland became the second-ever player to win the Challenge in the Bahamas in two consecutive years after Tiger Woods.

Now, Hovland has come out to state that he is looking forward to the upcoming Hero Cup. Despite stating it’s “not quite the same” as the Ryder Cup, the golfer said that he was excited for the same. Sharing his European ambitions for the upcoming year, the golfer said that the Hero Cup could be a “unique opportunity” to build as a team.

Speaking on Golweek’s Conversations with Champions presented by Sentry, the Hero World Challenge winner said that the Hero Cup could be a part of Europe’s preparation for Rome.

Replying to a query on the same, Viktor Hovland said:

“I think so. Not quite the same thing obviously, but growing up in junior golf in Europe, we would always have the European boys team championships and all these match play tournaments where you have to play with a teammate. Then when I came to college I didn’t really do that all that much.”

He added:

“Especially in pro golf, you don’t really play all that team and match play tournaments. So I think that’s just a unique opportunity to just have all the guys play match play and team up. I think it’s great.”

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Viktor Hovland on European players' Ryder Cup prep

Riding on the win in Albany, his seventh worldwide victory and first since January, Viktor Hovland said that he has had a good year. Addressing the good start to the Ryder Cup qualifying process, the golfer said that European players have been getting “a lot of momentum.”

Speaking on the Luke Donald-led team and its players, Viktor Hovland said:

“It’s a year until the Ryder Cup, but if the whole team keeps playing well and getting a lot of momentum going into the week, I think that’s great. The American players last year certainly had an amazing year and they kind of knew going into the tournament that they were the favorites. So, I think we have a chance to kind of push it the other direction.”

The Norwegian went on to add that Team Europe was headed on the right path.

Viktor Hovland added:

“The more Europeans that win, I think we can maybe change that narrative a little bit to next year. Yeah, but it’s just, it’s cool to see fellow Europeans do well.”

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Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi

The inaugural edition of the Hero Cup will be held in Abu Dhabi. The three-day event is scheduled for January 13-15 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The event will see Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood captain Teams Europe and Great Britain and Ireland, respectively.

Europe's Ryder Cup team captain Luke Donald announced the 18-man list for the Hero Cup back in November. The ace golfer revealed the players list, which included some Ryder Cup veterans alongside a few new names. It is noteworthy that the event is being looked at as a stepping stone for golfers to join the Europe squad in the upcoming Ryder Cup.