Nicolai Højgaard (born 12 March 2001) is a Danish

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He had a successful amateur career, winning the 2018

European Amateur The European Amateur Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament played at various locations throughout Europe. It is organized by the European Golf Association and was one of the "Elite" tournaments recognized by the World Amateur Golf Rank ...

and being part of the Danish team that won the

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

later in the year.

Amateur career

Højgaard was part of the Danish team that won the 2017 European Boys Team Championship, beating the hosts Spain in the final. Højgaard had a successful 2018. In April he won a professional tournament, the Bravo Tours Open on the

Nordic Golf League The Nordic Golf League is one of the four PGA European Tour-recognised third-tier men's professional golf tours that are known as the Satellite Tours. The top five players on the rankings list at the end of each season earn a place on the second t ...

. In June he was second in the individual competition for the boys Toyota Junior World Cup, four strokes behind his brother Rasmus. Denmark also won the team competition. Two weeks later he won the

, a win that gained him an entry to the 2018 Open Championship. In September he was part of the Danish team that won the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy for the first time. He played for Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup later in September and in October he represented Denmark in the

Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

Professional career

Højgaard turned professional at the start of 2019. He played a mixture of

and

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe. History The ...

events for most of the season. In September he was runner-up in the

KLM Open The Dutch Open is an annual golf tournament played in the Netherlands, and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the Tour was inaugurated in 1972. History and sponsorship Founded in 1912, the tournament began as the Dutch Open, be ...

, a

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

event, one stroke behind

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...

. In September 2021, Højgaard won his first European Tour event at the DS Automobiles Italian Open winning by one shot ahead of

Tommy Fleetwood Thomas Paul Fleetwood (born 19 January 1991) is an English professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and European Tour. He has won six times on the European Tour. Background and amateur career Fleetwood was born on 19 January 1991 in Southpo ...

and

Adrian Meronk Adrian Meronk (born 31 May 1993) is a Polish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He won the 2022 Horizon Irish Open, becoming the first Polish golfer to win on the European Tour. Amateur career Meronk was born in Germany. He a ...

. His twin brother Rasmus had won the week before at the

Omega European Masters The Omega European Masters is the Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was prefixed with E ...

, meaning that the Højgaard twins became the first brothers to win in back-to-back weeks on the European Tour. Højgaard picked up his second European Tour victory in February 2022 at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship. He shot 24 under par for four rounds; beating Jordan Smith by four shots.

Personal life

Højgaard's twin brother Rasmus is a professional golfer and was also part of the Danish team that won the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy.

Amateur wins

*2016 Hovborg Kro Open *2017 DGU Elite Tour I Herrer *2018 Hovborg Kro Open,

Source:

Professional wins (3)

European Tour wins (2)

Nordic Golf League wins (1)

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order before 2019 and in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Boys' Team Championship The European Boys' Team Championship (Jean-Louis Dupont Trophy) is a European amateur team golf championship for men up to 18 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1980 and it has been played annually since. S ...

(representing Denmark): 2017 (winners) *

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...

(representing Denmark):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

* Junior Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2018 *

(representing Denmark):

(winner)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Højgaard, Nicolai Danish male golfers European Tour golfers Golfers at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Danish twins Twin sportspeople Sportspeople from the Region of Southern Denmark People from Billund Municipality 2001 births Living people