– If Viktor Hovland wins tonight, it will probably be the biggest thing a Norwegian has done in an individual sport. That’s what Kjetil André Aamodt, alpine legend, sports enthusiast and member of the Sports Gala jury says. Because Sunday evening could be a Norwegian sports day for the history books. Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Narve Gilje Nordås, two of Norway’s top athletics stars, will run for World Cup gold in the 5,000 meters in Budapest. Just a few hours later, the aforementioned Hovland can win the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta in the USA. – This can certainly be a top five sports day of all time, says Aamodt, who nevertheless believes that a possible Hovland victory reigns supreme: – Golf and tennis are the two biggest and most difficult individual sports to reach the top in. Erling Braut Haaland is probably the only one who is up to par, if Hovland wins tonight, and possibly his achievements in the world’s biggest sport are even wilder. – It says something about how spoiled we are when we can have these discussions, says news’s commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt ahead of what could be a historic Super Sunday in Norwegian sports. Hovland is fighting this if Helgen’s tournament is the third and last of the golf elite’s season finale, where an overall winner is to be chosen. Throughout the season, players earn so-called FedEx points based on performance. Only the 70 players with the most points after the entire season are allowed to participate in the first tournament of the playoffs. Then it is filtered down to 50 players before playoff tournament number two, before it is all decided on the third and final weekend. And that’s where we are now. Only 30 players were eligible to take part in this weekend’s tournament, which is organized as a hunting start. When three of the four rounds of the season finale have been completed, Hovland leads superbly. To use a term sports-interested Norwegians know well: He is likely to win the World Cup overall. – Can’t be compared For golf commentator Per Haugsrud, who himself is a former top player, there is no discussion, although he emphasizes that he has “golf glasses on”. – I can’t find any other Norwegian achievement to compare with if Hovland wins tonight, he says first, but adds that Erling Braut Haaland’s achievements and title in the Champions League are the only comparables. EXPERT: Per Haugsrud. Photo: news Because when news asks what is the greatest victory for Hovland or a gold for Jakob Ingebrigtsen, he replies: – Exactly that cannot be compared. I must be allowed to say that. – Why? – Because I think the competition is quite a lot tougher in golf. There are tens of thousands who bet. Here you have big, big golfing nations that don’t even get players in the last starting field of 30. It is quite special that a Norwegian, a 25-year-old from Ekeberg, comes and wins the whole thing. If Hovland should go to the top, which he is likely to do (he has a lead of six strokes before the last day), he will be at least NOK 190 million richer. That just eight days after winning NOK 38 million after the big win last weekend. STAR: Viktor Hovland after the victory last weekend. Photo: MICHAEL REAVES / AFP “The ultimate” It is not quite the same prize money that awaits if there is a Norwegian party night in Budapest. At 20.20, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Narve Gilje Nordås run for WC gold in the prestigious distance of 5000 meters on what is the closing day of the WC. Sindre Buraas, who ran the 5000 meters himself, emphasizes that he doesn’t know much about golf and that he is impressed by what Hovland is doing, but that taking WC gold in the 5000 meters is “the ultimate”. – It might just be an Olympic gold or a world record that hangs higher. For me, 5000 meters is very close, as it is the exercise I competed in myself. I have known the level of the body, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen is right up there nodding with the very greatest in history, says Buraas. What is greater: WC gold in the 5,000 meters or overall victory on the PGA Tour? It will not be bigger than WC gold in the 5000 meters. Of course, it is an overall victory at the PGA. It will be far too difficult to compare across sports. All the same, can’t we just enjoy the achievements? Show result This is exactly what he believes speaks in Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s favor when performances are to be compared. – In the context of sports history, in his sport, he has achievements and results at a young age that are right up there. I would say he is one of the greatest in Norwegian sports history. Both because of the way he wins and the complexity of it. He is good at everything, both fast runs and tactical runs, says Buraas, and adds: – I think it is difficult enough to compare athletics exercises against each other, but Hovland has a bit left to match Tiger Woods. CLEAR SPEECH: Buraas has no doubts about which is the greatest. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix – A star in the shadow news’s sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt is himself unsure of which is the biggest. A few days ago, he saw Ingebrigtsen and Nordås take silver and bronze respectively in the 1,500 meters at the World Athletics Championships. – Viewed in isolation, an overall victory on the PGA Tour will be both more unique and generate a couple of extra kroner in prize money. Hovland will receive more attention internationally, but it is not a given that the achievement is greater. If you look at the spread and the number of nations, athletics gold beats a victory in the PGA Tour Championship, he says, but emphasizes: – This is by far the biggest in golf, so right now I feel that a Norwegian double victory at 5000 meters is needed to match a Hovland win. COMMENTATOR: news’s Jan Petter Saltvedt. Photo: Lars Thomas Nordby / news Saltvedt believes that we all “are part of the spoiled club” as it grows as well as it does in summer sports. He highlights Casper Ruud in tennis, Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Ødegaard in football and Karsten Warholm in addition to the aforementioned Ingebrigtsen, Nordås and Hovland. – There are probably a couple of days in the Winter Olympics that may have hit the hearts even more, but there is an enormous level of what is being achieved. – Hovland’s problem with recognition is that he is a star in the shadows. He deals with things in other time zones and on channels that are not available. There are some things like that which mean that the path to Norwegian hearts is longer, but you don’t have to search a lot on international media to understand how big it is. How big it will be, we will find out during the Sunday evening. You can watch Ingebrigtsen and Nordås’ 5000 meters on news 1 from 20.10, while Viktor Hovland goes out together with his nearest challenger, American Xander Schauffele, at 19.40. You can follow that on Eurosport Norge and Discovery+.
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– Cannot be compared – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
