PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Viktor Hovland’s week at the U.S. Amateur went so well that even when he made rare mistakes with drives into hazards, it didn’t end up hurting him at all.

Hovland recovered from one to take the lead for good on the fourth hole of the 36-hole final and another to halve the final hole of the morning round and maintain a four-stroke lead.

Hovland rolled from there to become the first Norwegian to win the U.S. Amateur, beating UCLA sophomore Devon Bling 6 and 5 on Sunday to cap a dominant week at Pebble Beach.

“I’ve had a lot of tournaments before where I hit the ball really well but the few times I missed a green or hit a bad shot I haven’t been able to scramble or make putts,” he said. “This week it kind of all came together which is really cool.”

Hovland trailed after only one hole in six rounds of match play and tied the record for the fewest holes played in a U.S. Amateur since the tournament went to its current format in 1979. Danny Lee also played 104 holes in 2008.

Norway has little history of success in men’s golf with no one from the country ever winning a PGA Tour event. The most prominent Norwegian player is Suzann Pettersen, who has won two majors among her 15 wins on the LPGA Tour.

This was an emotional week for Bling, whose late mother, Sara, had always wanted to see her son make it at a USGA event. Sara Bling died at age 45 after suffering a sudden blood clot that went to her brain.

Bling had a tough road to the final, getting stretched to the 18th hole in his previous four matches. But after surviving all of those, he couldn’t deliver against Hovland.

“It wasn’t the day I was hoping for but I played really well all week,” Bling said. “I battled really hard to get to this championship match. It’s just the beginning. It’s not the end.”