Viktor Hovland may be making his Rolex Series debut this week at the BMW PGA Championship but he already has one eye on The Ryder Cup.
The Norwegian has taken affiliate membership of the European Tour starting at Wentworth Golf Club, meaning he is in the points race from day one to make Padraig Harrington's team for 2020 as a full member next season.
As well as getting to Number One in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and winning the US Amateur, Hovland represented his country in the European Amateur Team Championship and the Eisenhower Trophy.
He entered the paid ranks earlier this year after finishing as low amateur at the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open Championship and has made all of his eight professional cuts so far - shooting 17 consecutive sub-70 rounds in the process.
That seamless transition has put him on the radar for Whistling Straits, and he admitted ahead of making his professional debut on the European Tour in Surrey, that it would be a dream come true to wear the yellow and blue.
"That would mean everything to be part of the team," he said.
"I love college golf so much, even though professional golf is really cool, I still think about the times that we had in college.
"There's nothing better than winning a tournament as a team and hopefully one day I'll be part of a winning Ryder Cup team."
The 22-year-old will get an early chance to impress when he plays alongside Harrington this week, and the captain is eager to see Hovland in action firsthand.
"He really does look like a fine player," he said. "His play has been phenomenal. The way he goes about it, I'd say with a small interaction with him, looks like he's got a good attitude, well focused.
"It looks like he feels like he belongs, which is the biggest key to a young rookie coming out on Tour. If they look like they are caught in the headlights, they could disappear quickly, where Viktor really does look like he's here to play golf.
"I'm looking forward to playing with him. I'm keen to go out and see to watch his game."
