The biggest moment of his golfing career occupied his mind for… a matter of minutes.
Norway’s Bard Bjornevik Skogen had just become only the third Norwegian golfer to qualify for The Open this century, but between the various media commitments that came with his achievement, he was fixated on football.
When speaking to The Athletic at Royal Cinque Ports, on England’s south coast, after he had finished 12 under, Skogen planted his phone on his golf bag streaming Norway’s World Cup round of 32 match against Ivory Coast, which had just kicked off.
Norway, through Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland, would go on to win their first knockout match at the World Cup, beating Ivory Coast 2-1 to set up a round of 16 tie with Brazil.
“Norway’s never been to a European Championship or a World Cup since I was born in football, so it’s pretty special to watch this now,” said Skogen, barely taking in what he had done just minutes earlier.
Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app
The day before, compatriot Viktor Hovland had beaten world No 1 Scottie Scheffler in a rare Monday playoff at the Travelers Championship.
Hovland celebrated by doing the ‘viking row’ with his fellow natives, a tribute to Norwegian’s Scandinavian ancestors that has been visible in stands around the World Cup. Skogen had even exchanged congratulatory messages with Hovland and was clearly inspired as he claimed his Open place, for the first time, at Royal Birkdale next month.
Viktor Hovland joined his compatriots, who swapped the World Cup to support him in the Travelers playoff against Scottie Scheffler (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
“Since I have been a junior, I have always looked up to Viktor as every Norwegian golfer does, so to be alongside him now is crazy,” Skogen said of the world No 12 and Ryder Cup regular. “ I like to consider us friends.”
It is now Hovland’s turn to dish out the praise, as Skogen finished final qualifying with a score of 12 under. The pair will join a field of 156, along with compatriot Kristoffer Reitan, for the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale, starting on July 16.
The 24-year-old almost was not here, though — Skogen was in two minds about making the nine-hour flight from the U.S..
His recent form on the Challenge Tour had been ordinary. The Open looked like another long shot. But Skogen’s coach Niklas Diethelm had one simple message: “Take every opportunity”.
Bard Skogen in conversation with his caddy (George Edwards/The Athletic)
A first round of 68 was followed by a fabulous eight-under 64 as Skogen tamed the links.
“I had a chance midway through one of my U.S. qualifiers, but I blew it,” Skogen said. “I did not know what to expect in the UK, but qualifying was not really in my mind when I arrived.”
After starting the second round tied in fifth, Skogen romped to the top of the leaderboard, as a growing number of spectators, including The Athletic, began following his group once it became clear something special was brewing.
His shots frequently drew applause from his new contingent of supporters but Skogen was less convinced.
“Pure luck” was how he twice described a performance that “caught me by surprise”, pointing out that the course’s layout suited his natural fade. “Some days you just wake up and start rolling in putts.”
Skogen says he said the word “hit” before he uttered “mum” or “dad”. Aged two, he was pictured in a Manchester United T-shirt while holding a plastic golf club and he had been to a course before he was three with his grandfather.
He visited The Open at Royal Birkdale aged seven, by which point he was hitting drives between 100 and 120 yards.
“Golf is small in Norway”, Skogen said, “especially when I was growing up. Justin Rose was a big role model for me, and I did well at youth levels around Europe during my childhood.”
Englishman Rose, 45, won the 2013 U.S. Open and has nine top-10 finishes in major championships this decade, announcing himself as a 17-year-old amateur at The Open at Royal Birkdale in 1998, when he tied for fourth, three years before Skogen was born.
Norwegian golf has never been as successful as it now is.
In 2020, Hovland became the first Norwegian golfer to win on the PGA Tour, and achieved the same feat on the European Tour a year later. Reitan, 28, just like Hovland, made his Open debut last year and finished in a tie for 30, after turning professional in 2018.
Domestically, golf has boomed too, with Norway boasting 695 registered golfers per course in a 2022 study.
Skogen moved from his hometown Sveio to Texas Tech University in Lubbock aged 18 to pursue his dream of turning professional.
“I met a few older Norwegians there who took me under their wings and made the experience more relatable,” he said.
“College golf gave me the belief more than anything, and everything I learned along the way has built me into the golfer I am now.”
Skogen’s four-year college career saw him compete in the U.S. amateur and amass over 10 top-10 finishes in tournaments, culminating in his final semester in 2024 as he became the regional champion.
The crowds started to follow Bard Skogen as his second round developed (George Edwards/The Athletic)
He turned professional after leaving college, competing in the HotelPlanner Tour — the primary developmental men’s professional golf tour in Europe, vying for the big breakthrough he achieved on the cliffs of south-east England.
“It is very special to make The Open,” he said. “Being European, it is the championship you dream of winning as a child, and I would always watch the tournament on the TV every year, so for this to be my first major is pretty surreal.”
Like much of the finishing field at Royal Cinque Ports, the BMW International Open in Munich beckoned on the European Tour.
The next fortnight will be spent preparing for Royal Birkdale, though Skogen will be “going a little calmer” than he usually would, pleased that he may get more time to watch Norway’s football exploits in the U.S.
“They can go on and win it,” he said. Perhaps inspired by Hovland and Skogen?