The Viking Golf Event: Hovland and the Højgaard Twins Launch a New Denmark–Norway Rivalry
Viktor Hovland, Kristoffer Reitan and the Højgaard twins are launching The Viking, a new Denmark–Norway team golf event. Here is what is confirmed for 2027.
Four of Nordic golf’s most recognizable players are attempting to build something that sits between an international team match, a talent-development program and a showcase for Scandinavian professional golf.
Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Reitan will captain Norway. Twin brothers Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard will captain Denmark. All four are also expected to play in the competition rather than serving only as non-playing captains.
The event is called The Viking — Battle of the Vikings. Its inaugural edition is scheduled for ISO week 29 of 2027, corresponding to 19–25 July. Each country is expected to field 12 players drawn from several levels of the game, including juniors, women, emerging professionals and golfers competing on the ECCO Tour, HotelPlanner Tour, DP World Tour and PGA Tour.
That broad player mix may prove more important than the event’s marketable Denmark–Norway rivalry. The Viking is not being presented simply as four famous men playing an exhibition. Its stated purpose is to put established tour professionals alongside players who are still trying to reach the highest levels of the sport.
What is The Viking golf event?
The Viking is a proposed annual team competition between Denmark and Norway.
The confirmed structure currently looks like this:
| Confirmed detail | Current information |
|---|---|
| First edition | Week 29 of 2027 |
| Countries | Denmark and Norway |
| Team size | 12 players per country |
| Norway captains | Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Reitan |
| Denmark captains | Nicolai Højgaard and Rasmus Højgaard |
| Playing captains | All four captains are expected to compete |
| Player categories | Juniors, women, emerging players and professionals from multiple tours |
| Organizers | GolfPromote and NextUp Golf |
| Frequency | Intended to become an annual event |
The organizers describe the project as the start of a wider Nordic strategy intended to create opportunities for players and strengthen cooperation across national borders. That is an ambition rather than a guaranteed outcome; no long-term funding arrangements or future host plans have yet been disclosed.
When and where will The Viking be played?
The first edition is scheduled for week 29 of 2027, which runs from Monday, 19 July, through Sunday, 25 July.
The official announcement says competition will be hosted in both Denmark and Norway, but it does not identify a course in either country or explain whether the match will be split across several days and venues. It also promises additional announcements covering the schedule, format, partners and ticket sales.
Norwegian Eurosport provided a more specific—but not yet reconciled—version of the plan. Its report said the match would be played as part of the 2027 NextUp Invitational at Oslo Golfklubb. The 2026 NextUp Invitational was staged at that club on 28 and 29 July, combining junior competition with appearances by Hovland, Reitan and other professionals.
Until the organizers publish the detailed itinerary, Oslo Golfklubb should therefore be regarded as a reported component of the event, not the only fully confirmed venue.
The calendar creates an immediate logistical question
The chosen week begins directly after the 2027 Open Championship at St Andrews, which is scheduled for 11–18 July. Any Viking captains or prospective team members competing deep into The Open would face a rapid transition from Scotland to Denmark or Norway.
That does not make the plan unworkable. The countries are relatively close to Scotland, and post-major exhibitions are not inherently unusual. But the proximity of the dates could affect travel, preparation and player availability, especially if The Viking is intended to begin early in the week.
The full 2027 PGA Tour and DP World Tour schedules were not sufficiently complete at the time of the announcement to determine every possible clash. The final Viking dates—not merely the numbered calendar week—will therefore matter.
How will the teams be selected?
Hovland and Reitan will select Norway’s team, while the Højgaard brothers will choose Denmark’s.
Beyond that, the selection system remains undefined. The organizers have not announced:
- How many places will be assigned to each player category.
- Whether rankings or qualifying events will be used.
- Whether every team must include a fixed number of women and juniors.
- Whether invitations will be discretionary.
- What age definition will apply to junior players.
- Whether tour professionals must meet eligibility or nationality requirements.
The announcement lists the types of players who may be included, but it does not establish quotas. Consequently, claims that the event will have a particular gender balance or a fixed number of juniors would be premature.
This is one of the project’s most consequential unresolved questions. A genuinely integrated roster would distinguish The Viking from a conventional men’s professional exhibition. A team dominated by established male tour players with only token developmental places would deliver something considerably less original.
What format will The Viking use?
No final competition format has been confirmed.
The phrase “team match” suggests some form of match play, potentially involving foursomes, four-balls or singles. Those formats are familiar from the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup, but the organizers have not said The Viking will copy either competition.
It is also unclear how juniors or developing players will be paired with leading professionals, whether men and women will compete directly in mixed pairings, and how differences in tees or course setup would be handled.
Those are not minor technicalities. The scoring format will determine whether the developmental element is central to the competition or primarily part of the surrounding event program.
Why these four players?
The four captains give the project both credibility and a marketable sporting narrative.
Hovland entered the announcement shortly after winning the 2026 Travelers Championship, defeating Scottie Scheffler on the first playoff hole for his eighth PGA Tour victory and tenth professional win worldwide.
Reitan’s presence is especially timely. He won the 2026 Truist Championship by two strokes over Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Højgaard, earning his first PGA Tour victory. That result also provides the new event with a ready-made competitive connection between the Norwegian and Danish camps.
The Højgaard brothers are not merely promotional ambassadors for the Danish organizer. In May 2026, Nicolai and Rasmus became co-owners of GolfPromote, the company behind the ECCO Tour and several Danish professional tournaments. Their involvement therefore links their playing careers with a longer-term investment in Danish golf infrastructure.
That ownership context is important. It suggests The Viking grew from existing player-development organizations rather than being created solely as a one-off celebrity match.
Who is organizing The Viking?
The project is a collaboration between Denmark’s GolfPromote and Norway’s NextUp Golf.
GolfPromote was founded in 2001 and operates the ECCO Tour. It also works on Danish events connected to the HotelPlanner Tour and DP World Tour. According to the company, it had organized 313 professional tournaments and helped distribute approximately DKK285 million in prize money by May 2026. Those figures are company-reported, although its established role in Danish tournament operations is independently visible through its event portfolio.
NextUp Golf describes its purpose as developing the next generation of Norwegian players. Its existing activities include training environments, a golf team and the NextUp Invitational, which brings leading professionals and juniors together. Hovland is presented as a mentor within the initiative, while Peter Kaensche leads its sporting work.
The partnership therefore connects two different but complementary systems: a Danish tournament operator with experience across professional tours and a Norwegian player-development project built around access to leading professionals.
Why The Viking could matter
The most persuasive case for The Viking is not that Denmark and Norway require another trophy. It is that promising players often face a difficult transition between junior golf, amateur competition, developmental tours and financially sustainable professional careers.
The proposed rosters are designed to place several parts of that pathway inside one national team. A junior could potentially practice, compete and spend time with a PGA Tour winner while representing the same country in the same event.
That proximity can offer benefits that are difficult to reproduce through a standard clinic or motivational speech:
- Observation of preparation and course management.
- Direct exposure to professional standards.
- Relationships with players further along the same pathway.
- Public and media attention for lesser-known competitors.
- A visible connection between domestic development tours and elite golf.
NextUp’s existing Invitational already follows part of that model. Its 2026 program brought juniors and professionals into the same event environment, with the junior finalists playing alongside professionals and an exhibition component involving leading Norwegian players.
The Viking appears intended to expand that concept across a national rivalry and a larger commercial platform.
The event is ambitious, but it is not fully built yet
The launch should be understood as confirmation of the concept and intended structure, not proof that every element is secured.
As of 30 July 2026, organizers had not publicly confirmed:
- The final venues.
- Exact competition dates and daily schedule.
- Match format and scoring.
- Full eligibility rules.
- Team-selection quotas.
- Prize money or appearance fees.
- Broadcast or streaming arrangements.
- Ticket prices or sales dates.
- Sponsors and commercial partners.
- Long-term hosting rotation.
- Whether the event will award ranking points.
- Its formal relationship, if any, with the PGA Tour, DP World Tour or national golf federations.
The announcement’s publication on the DP World Tour website does not by itself establish that The Viking is an official DP World Tour tournament or ranking event. The release describes GolfPromote and NextUp Golf as the developers and does not announce official tour sanctioning or points.
Similarly, the term “annual” expresses the organizers’ plan. The ability to stage the match every year will depend on scheduling, financing, venues, player participation and audience demand.
What most early coverage misses
Much of the first-day reporting understandably emphasizes the four star captains. The more significant experiment, however, is the attempt to connect gender, age and competitive level within the same national-team structure.
The key test will be whether those groups receive meaningful competitive roles.
A Ryder Cup-style headline featuring Hovland and the Højgaards will attract attention. But the project’s claimed developmental value will depend on less glamorous details: the number of junior places, how women are selected, whether emerging players participate in decisive matches, and what support continues after the event ends.
There is also an important organizational story. The Højgaard twins’ ownership of GolfPromote and Hovland’s role in NextUp mean the players are becoming involved in the systems that helped produce them. This is more substantial than lending their names to an outside promoter, although the eventual impact still needs to be demonstrated.
What happens next?
The next announcements should provide enough information to judge whether The Viking is primarily:
- A high-profile exhibition with developmental activities attached.
- A serious mixed-pathway team competition.
- A broader week of events divided between Denmark and Norway.
- A first step toward a larger Nordic series involving additional countries.
The organizers have explicitly described the project as the beginning of closer Nordic cooperation, but they have not committed to adding Sweden, Finland, Iceland or other teams. Any suggestion of an expanded Nordic championship remains speculative.
For supporters considering travel or tickets, the sensible approach is to wait for official venue and sales announcements. No verified public ticket release was included in the launch information.
FAQ
Is The Viking golf event officially confirmed?
Yes. GolfPromote, NextUp Golf and the DP World Tour’s news channel announced the concept and its intended 2027 launch. Important operating details remain unfinished.
When is The Viking 2027?
It is scheduled for week 29 of 2027, running from 19 to 25 July. The exact competition days have not been announced.
Who will play for Norway?
Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Reitan are confirmed as playing captains. Ten additional Norwegian team places are expected, but no other players have been selected publicly.
Who will play for Denmark?
Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard are confirmed as playing captains. The other ten Danish players have not been announced.
Will women play in The Viking?
The organizers say female golfers will be represented, but they have not disclosed how many women will play or how they will be selected.
Will juniors compete against PGA Tour players?
The concept places juniors and professionals within the same team environment. The specific pairings and competitive roles have not yet been confirmed.
Where will The Viking be held?
The official release says both Denmark and Norway. A Norwegian report says the event will be connected to the NextUp Invitational at Oslo Golfklubb, but the complete venue plan remains unannounced.
Can fans buy tickets?
Not yet through any ticket sale identified in the launch announcement. Ticket information is expected later.
GOLFRAW's Take
The Viking is a credible and potentially distinctive proposal, backed by players with current elite-level relevance and organizations already involved in Nordic golf development. What has been launched, however, is still a framework. The captains, team sizes, player categories, annual ambition and 2027 window are confirmed. The mechanics that will determine whether the event becomes genuinely important—or merely entertaining—are still to come. Its success will depend less on the Viking branding than on three practical questions: whether the best players remain available, whether developing golfers receive meaningful competitive opportunities, and whether the organizers can turn a two-country debut into a sustainable annual institution.