Kristoffer Reitan earns first Tour win at Truist Championship 

PGA TOUR

Kristoffer Reitain won his first PGA Tour title Sunday at the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.

A lot can happen in a few years.

Kristoffer Reitan is living it by capturing the 2026 Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club — his first PGA Tour win — finishing the tournament at 15-under par, two shots clear of the field. 

Reitan, 28, who is in his first year on the PGA Tour, spent the 2025 season on the DP World Tour. Before that, he had been grinding his way through the Korn Ferry Tour to regain status on the DP World Tour after losing his tour card in 2019. He even dabbled in YouTube golf while weighing whether playing competitively was for him.

“At that point I was considering whether or not I wanted to continue playing professionally,” Reitan said. “So, I just had some thoughts about how to make the game more fun, a little bit more relaxed. I think YouTube golf would have given me maybe some fun competitiveness back, maybe not the serious competitiveness, if that makes sense. I was really just trying to find ways to make it more fun to give my journey a little bit of energy and fun so I can enjoy the hardships that follow professional golf.”

Reitan said his struggles were more emotional than anything else.

“I think there are a lot of pieces that have to fall in place,” he said. “There is a whole puzzle that needs to shape up eventually. I think I have made some steps in that area of the game, but definitely a big one for sure is just the belief that I can do it, and I knew that I could do it here on the PGA Tour as well.”

Reitan is having a breakout rookie season on the PGA Tour, where he finished tied for second at the Zurich Classic and tied for 10th at the Valero Texas Open.

Reitan got off to a solid start on Thursday carding a five-under par 66. He bettered that on Saturday with a 64 to put him one shot off the lead heading into the final round. A two-under 69 was enough to get the job done. Reitan played particularly well on Quail Hollow’s final three holes, known as The Green Mile, the course’s toughest stretch. 

He played the three-hole stretch at even par when the three players behind him on the leaderboard played the stretch in over-par. 

“It is a tremendously difficult stretch of holes,” Reitan said, “especially when you have some gettable holes in advance there. I was happy to take advantage of [holes 14 and 15 and made birdie]. I just knew it was going to be a different beast coming in those last three holes. I knew I needed to step up and hit some good golf shots and definitely not start relaxing at that point, knowing the tournament was almost over and all that. I was definitely on it mentally the whole way and very clear about the fact that some very difficult shots were coming up.” 

Reitan is among a handful of PGA players that won their first tournament at Quail Hollow, which includes stars like Rickie Fowler (2012), Rory McIlroy (2010) and Max Homa (2019).

Reitan said while it is not his goal to be famous, it is satisfying that more fans know who he is. 

“I came from the DP World Tour where people were starting to recognize me as a good player,” he said, “and then I came over here [to the PGA Tour], and I just started from scratch. I had that feeling that no one would have any idea who I was, so I had to earn it, and I hope this is a way of doing that. … They’ll know who I am if I play well enough.”

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