Ryder Cup Rookie profiles: Nicolai Hojgaard

Rian Noctor
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Nicolai Hojgaard (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Rian Noctor

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Ahead of the start of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club this Friday, we have decided to profile the eight rookies from both teams. Second up for Europe is a man who’s no stranger to Marco Simone, taking his maiden DP World Tour title here in 2021.

Name: Nicolai Hojgaard

Age: 22

Nationality: Danish

OWGR: 82nd

The youngest player in the team room this week, Hojgaard thought he had fallen just short after Ludvig Aberg’s charge to the title at the Omega European masters. Hojgaard finished fifth but in his own mind his chance had gone. 90 minutes later, his ticket was punched to Rome and he was overjoyed.

“I was quite negative, to be honest,” Hojgaard said of his mindset before getting the good news. “But then the phone call came from Luke an hour and a half after the final round. I was so nervous, my heart was pumping. It turned out the way I was hoping for and it was the best phone call I’ve ever had. I’m now so excited.”

Hojgaard’s earliest memory of the Ryder cup was watching his fellow Dane Soren Hansen represent Europe in a ultimately disappointing outing for the side at Valhalla in 2008, running out 16.5-11.5 losers in Kentucky. Hojgaard will also take inspiration from Thomas Bjorn, who won the Ryder Cup three times as a player (1997,2002,2014) and most notably, as a brilliant captain in 2018 in Paris as Europe ran out emphatic 17.5-10.5 winners over the USA. In addition, Thorbjorn Olesen wrote the latest chapter in Danish Ryder Cup history, defeating Jordan Spieth 5&4 to ensure that every member of team Europe earned a point that week at Le Golf National.

Bjorn, now a vice-captain in Rome, praised Hojgaard for his hard work and attention to detail and has tipped his fellow Dane for big things. “Nicolai has an unbelievable game. His ability as a player, it’s up there with the best. It’s a big, big game. He understands the process is important to develop, he sticks to it and he never overdoes it or underdoes it,” Bjorn told the media.

Hojgaard was born in Billund, Denmark in March 2001. He was born a twin to his brother Rasmus who is also a winner on the DP World Tour. Hojgaard first tasted success as part of the Danish team that won the 2017 European boys team championship with Denmark beating hosts Spain in the final. But it was in 2018 where Nicolai really started making a name for himself on the amateur scene.

In April, while still an amateur, Hojgaard won his first professional tournament, the Bravo Tours Open on the Nordic Golf League. Two months later he finished runner up to his twin brother in the individual competition at the Toyota Junior World Cup where Denmark would win the team competition. Nicolai would continue his impressive run two weeks later with victory at the European Amateur, a victory which would lead to the Dane’s major championship debut at Carnoustie for the 2018 Open Championship where he would miss the cut.

Hojgaard finished his final year as an amateur on a high. In September, he was a member of the Danish team that won the Eisenhower Trophy for the very first time and later that month he represented Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup, and the following month, he would represent his country again at the Youth Olympics.

Hojgaard turned professional at the beginning of 2019, dividing his time between the Nordic Golf League where he was a previous winner and the Challenge Tour. He announced himself on the European Tour scene with a runner-up finish in the KLM Open in the Netherlands, finishing one stroke behind Sergio Garcia. Hojgaard’s first win came two years later and where it came might have had a big significance on his selection for the Ryder Cup two years later.

Hojgaard won the Italian Open in September 2021, finishing a shot clear of Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood and the man many believe he pipped for the final captains pick, Adrian Meronk. His past history and success at Marco Simone Golf Club will serve the young Dane well as he looks to shine on his Ryder Cup debut.

After Rasmus won the Omega European Masters the following week, the Hojgaard twins made history as the first brothers to win back-to-back in DP World Tour history. The following February Nicolai would win his second DP World Tour title at the Ras Al Khamaih Championship in the UAE, finishing on 24-under-par, two clear of England’s Jordan Smith.

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