2024 Olympics Golf: Meet Viktor Hovland’s Norway Teammates For The Ultimate Patriotic Fight
Unlike Team USA, which has seven golfers (men and women) at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the Norwegian squad will have only four pros representing the Scandinavian country. The top-ranked player among them is world no. 6, Viktor Hovland. The PGA Tour pro will be playing at the Olympics for the second time in his career. He made his Olympic debut at the Kasumigaseki Country Club for the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in 2021).
The Norwegian pro has always been excited to play at the Olympics, as his country has a rich history in the game and now that golf has made its return, Hovland wanted to add more to it. However, in the last Games, he couldn’t win any medals for Norway and finished 14th on the leaderboard. Joining the 6-time PGA Tour winner at Le Golf National will be Korn Ferry Tour’s Kris Ventura.
The 266th-ranked player will be making his debut and sharing a room with Hovland and tennis star Casper Rudd. The 29-year-old has won two times on the Korn Ferry Tour and has had a mixed 2024 season with one runner-up and three top-10 finishes. After being confirmed as part of Team Norway, Ventura excitedly told KFT, “It’ll be really special… certainly, something not everyone gets to experience.” Although he was hesitant at first as he would miss the Korn Ferry Tour schedule and some crucial points, Ventura later realized that he wouldn’t regret participating in the Olympics.
Kris Ventura heads to Paris next week to represent Norway in his #Olympics debut.
He’ll be roommates with Viktor Hovland and Casper Ruud. pic.twitter.com/QtQdM26ghC
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 27, 2024
The two young golfers will aim to secure one of the three medals for their country. However, they won’t be the only ones representing Norway in Olympic golf at the challenging Le Golf National in France. Two more female golfers will also compete on behalf of Norway.
Who are the two women golfers at the Paris Olympics from Norway?
Until a few weeks ago, the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) had not officially confirmed which female golfers would represent Norway at the Paris Olympics. Unlike the Netherlands, where different qualification criteria led to some pros being excluded, Norwegian golfers Madelene Stavnar and Celine Borge faced their own uncertainties about participation.
However, the NIF later gave them the green light and the two were part of Team Norway in Olympic golf. Celine Borge made her LPGA Tour debut last year and has been trying to perform better on the women’s circuit. But she has only one top-10 finish so far and has missed 13 cuts. Before the play starts at Le Golf National on August 7th, the LPGA Tour pro would surely want to get back in her form and attain a top finish.
On the other hand, Madelene Stavnar has been a prominent player on the Ladies European Tour. The Norwegian pro shared her excitement for the game on her Instagram, saying, “Dreams do come true. So proud of myself and my team.” Similar to Borge, Stavnar has yet to win a professional victory in her career. Who knows, the stars might align and the two might clinch their first victories at Le Golf National.
The Norwegian fans will wait for at least one medal from the four golfers representing them at the Paris Olympics. It remains to be seen if they will fulfill the expectations.
