Rasmus

Hojgaard

The young Dane found just three (of 13) fairways today but still scrambled his way to an even-par round. He gained nearly three strokes putting today, which certainly helps. Hojgaard started the week at 58th in the DP World Tour Rankings and should get a nice boost for this Rolex Series result. This will also be his second top 10 of his PGA TOUR season (and career), adding to his solo sixth at the Corales. Hojgaard finished T8 in GIR percentage this week, among all of the cut-makers. He continued to prove his game stacks up with the best in the world.

The 21-year-old Dane opened his week on the 10th tee and missed three birdie looks early in his round. Hojgaard did splash home two birdies before the turn and didn’t miss much on his homeward nine. Highlights included a pair of birdie bombs from outside of 22 feet. He walked off the course gaining more than three strokes putting. Hojgaard arrived with a 1-for-2 record at The Renaissance Club, signing a T48 in his 2020 debut before missing the cut last year.

The 21-year-old posted a solo sixth finish last week at the Corales to punch his ticket into this week’s event. He kept that momentum rolling today and the putter was a big piece of that equation. Before his day was done, Hojgaard splashed home seven putts from outside of eight feet with three of those poured home from outside of 21 feet. “I feel like I hit a lot of greens, I haven’t checked the facts yet. But putted amazingly. It’s the best I’ve putted for a long time and yeah, that just builds some confidence and I felt I could be aggressive on the greens.” The young Dane short-sided himself on the last hole of the day to swallow a double bogey and drop out of the lead, but it was still an impressive start to the week.

The 21-year-old Dane was playing this week on a sponsor’s invite. The trip paid off as he now has a top 10 on his PGA TOUR resume and as a result he will earn a spot to play in next week’s Valero Texas Open. “I haven’t played much golf the last month and a half, been out with injury. So I feel like my body was ready to play, so I thought why not go ahead, try and see how well I could play. Yeah, it turned out very good.” Hojgaard struggled on day one (1-over 73) but rallied to the finish with three straight 67s. He ended the week ranked T15 in GIR Percentage and 2nd in scrambling. Gamers should expect to see him next week in San Antonio as he does hope to make the leap to playing in the States, and today’s finish gives him a nice start on that journey.

The 21-year-old Hojgaard is a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, where he’s made four cuts in four starts this season with a best finish of T-20 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January. He’s made two PGA Tour starts this season, both in the fall series, missing the cut at the Shriners and finishing T-63 at The CJ Cup @ Summit. Hojgaard made his PGA Tour debut at the 2020 U.S. Open, where he missed the cut, but he rebounded with a T-37 in his next start at the Bermuda Championship. Also of note, Hojgaard made the cut last year at the PGA Championship (T-79) and was T-38 at the Tokyo Olympics. Last August at the European Masters, Hojgaard carded a bogey-free, 7-under 63 on Sunday to claim a one-shot victory over Bernd Wiesberger and become a three-time DPWT winner at age 20.

In four previous starts at the Puerto Rico Open, Kaye missed the cut last year, was 71st in 2019, withdrew in 2011 and finished T-45 in 2010. The 51-year-old has two PGA Tour titles on his resume, winning the 2003 Buick Classic and the 2004 FBR Open. He battled injuries and was granted a Major Medical Extension for 2008, 2009 and again in 2012. He didn’t make any Tour starts again until the 2017-18 season, and has since made just 10 starts with two made cuts. Kaye made his PGA Tour Champions debut in 2021 and played four events with two finishes inside the top 20 (T-16 Ascension Charity Classic, T-18 Boeing Classic). He finished T-47 at the final stage of the Champions Qualifying Tournament.

The 20-year-old Hojgaard, who captured his first DP World Tour title last year in September at the Italian Open, made a little history in December when he and brother Rasmus became the first pair of twins ranked in the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Nicolai currently is No. 88 while Rasmus is No. 97. Hojgaard finished last year on a high note with two top-five finishes – T-2 at Portugal Masters and T-4 at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. He made 15 cuts in 22 starts with a win and three top 10s and finished eighth in the Race to Dubai standings.

The 20-year-old Hojgaard, who broke through for his maiden European Tour win in September at the Italian Open, finished at 13-under 275 in his tournament debut at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course, tied with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and four strokes behind winner and Race to Dubai champion Collin Morikawa. One start prior at the Portugal Masters, Hojgaard rallied with a 7-under 64 on Sunday to finish T-2. His back-to-back top fives propelled him to finish eighth in the Race to Dubai standings and to No. 109 in the world rankings. On the season, the Dane made 15 cuts in 22 starts with one win and four other top 10s. Twin brother Rasmus Hojgaard finished T-27 in Dubai and 35th in the R2D.

Hojgaard finished at 13-under 267 to add a third trophy to his resume, which includes the 2020 UK Championship and 2019 Mauritius Open. He made a crucial 9-footer on his 72nd hole and walked off the course trailing Wiesberger by a shot, then had to wait for the final three groups to finish before being crowned the winner after the Austrian made double bogey at the last. “I knew I had to make a birdie (at the 18th) to have a chance to maybe get in the playoff, so we were just trying to set up a chance. “I made a birdie and then we had a bit of a strange ending. It was crazy,” he explained. “That’s by far the most nervous I’ve been the whole day (over the putt on 18). But it’s so nice to have the crowds back to cheer you on. That was a great moment.” On the season, Hojgaard has made 11 cuts in 15 starts with three other top 10s. He’ll make his tournament debut this week at the Italian Open at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, site of the 2023 Ryder Cup.

The 20-year-old Hojgaard matched the lowest round of his European Tour career – and set a new course record at London Golf Club -- with a bogey-free, 10-under 62 in the third round to take a three-shot lead into the final day. But the world No. 122 faded from contention with an even-par 72 on Sunday, making three bogeys on his back nine including one at his 72nd hole, and finished T-3 at 14-under 274, two strokes behind winner Calum Hill. It marked the third top-10 result this season for Hojgaard, who was T-9 at the Dubai Desert Classic in January and T-6 at the Saudi International in February. Hojgaard broke onto the scene last year with two wins, capturing the Mauritius Open in his second start last season and adding a victory at the UK Championship when play resumed after the COVID-19 break. On the season, he’s made 10 cuts in 14 starts and will make his tournament debut at this week’s D+D Real Czech Masters.