Viktor Hovland celebrated his Travelers Championship victory over Scottie Scheffler the only way that made sense in that moment.

Hovland joined his countrymen at the 18th green at TPC River Highlands and rowed an imaginary Viking longboat, chanting: “Ro! Ro! Ro!,” as seen in an X video posted by Travelers Championship's official page, TravelersChamp.

The fans who brought the energetic tradition from the concurrent 2026 FIFA World Cup sat in single-file lines and rhythmically rowed as Hovland happily joined in after his post-round interview after the win.

"Obviously, it helps when you've got people like this cheering you on as well," Hovland told Golf Channel, crediting the fans as one of the reasons for his 8th PGA Tour win. "So, yeah, it was a blast."

The 2026 season had not been kind to Hovland. He entered the Travelers Championship with just two top-10 finishes and several missed cuts, and nagging swing issues.

There was no obvious sign on Thursday that this week would be different. But Hovland finished the week with a 21-under-par total, including a career-low nine-under 61 round on Friday to play the first playoff of his season against World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Both hit iron approaches inside eight feet of the cup in the playoffs and had a birdie chance. Hovland rolled his putt in, while Scheffler missed the putt, eliminating him from the winning position.

"Winning in the playoff against Scottie — best player in the world — that was pretty satisfying," Hovland said during the same interview.

The Norwegian Fans Who Made TPC River Highlands Feel Like Home

Throughout the week, the support from the Norwegian fans remained constant. Turned up in red, they brought their World Cup energy to Connecticut, and kept the noise going all week.

Some had even come over from Boston after following Norway at the World Cup, then made the short trip to Cromwell to keep cheering for Hovland and fellow Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan.

Hovland, for his part, gave the best possible answer when asked to explain the Viking Row it on Saturday.

“I mean, we’re Vikings, so it’s kind of in our DNA,” he said, according to the PGA Tour.

He even admitted with a laugh that he had never seen the celebration in person before this World Cup.

"I think that's the first time we've ever done it, especially in the World Cup. It took us 1,000 years to figure it out. Yeah, I think it's pretty cool."

Earlier in the week, Hovland visited MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to watch Norway take on Senegal in the group stage. Norway won the game 3-2.

"That was my first one there," Hovland said. "It's fun. You definitely get the adrenaline from it."

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Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Koushik Biswas