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 ...

who currently plays on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

and

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

. In 2021, he and his twin brother,

Rasmus Rasmus may refer to: People * Rasmus (given name) * Rasmus (surname) Arts and entertainment * The Rasmus, a Finnish rock band formerly called Rasmus ** ''The Rasmus'' (album), a self-titled studio album by the Finnish band * the title char ...

, became the first brothers to win in back-to-back weeks on the European Tour. He also was part of the winning European

2023 Ryder Cup The 44th Ryder Cup was a series of golf matches between teams representing the DP World Tour (Europe) and the PGA of America (United States) for the Ryder Cup, that was held in Italy from 29 September to 1 October 2023 at Marco Simone Golf and Co ...

team.

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 third-tier men's professional golf tours, recognised by the European Tour, also known as the Satellite Tours. The top five players on the Order of Merit at the end of each season earn status to play on the seco ...

. 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

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 ...

, a win that gained him an entry to the

2018 Open Championship The 2018 Open Championship was the 147th Open Championship and was held from 19–22 July 2018 at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland. It was the eighth Open Championship to be played at Carnoustie. Playing conditions were unusual as a res ...

. In September he was part of the Danish team that won the

2018 Eisenhower Trophy The 2018 Eisenhower Trophy took place 5–8 September at the Carton House Golf Club in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It was the 31st World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team eve ...

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 Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

Professional career

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

and

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour, currently titled as the HotelPlanner Tour for sponsorship reasons and also sometimes referred to as the European Challenge Tour, is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European To ...

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

KLM Open The Dutch Open, now again called the KLM 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 tour ...

, a

event, one stroke behind

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He turned professional in 1999 and played on the European Tour and PGA Tour prior to joining LIV Golf in 2022. García has won 36 international tournaments as ...

. 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 seven times on the European Tour. He also won a silver medal for Great Britain, at the Golf at the 2024 Summer ...

and

Adrian Meronk Adrian Meronk (born 31 May 1993) is a Polish professional golfer who plays as a member of Cleeks GC as part of the LIV Golf League. He won the 2022 Horizon Irish Open, becoming the first Polish golfer to win on the European Tour. Early life M ...

. His twin brother

had won the week before at the

Omega European Masters The Omega European Masters is the Switzerland, 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 pr ...

, 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. In September 2023, Højgaard played on the European team in the

Marco Simone Golf and Country Club Marco Simone Golf and Country Club (also known as Golf Marco Simone) is a golf course in Guidonia Montecelio, Guidonia, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Italy. It is 10 miles from the city centre of Rome and has 2 golf courses, an 18-hole ...

in Guidonia,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Højgaard went 0–2–1 including a loss in his Sunday singles match against

Xander Schauffele Alexander Victor Schauffele (; born October 25, 1993) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the Tour Championship in 2017 and the gold medal at the men's individual golf event of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, ...

. In November, he won the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. He shot a final round 64 to win by two shots and claim his first Rolex Series victory. In April 2024, Højgaard played in his first ever

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

. Playing alongside the world number one

Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...

on Saturday, he briefly took the solo lead with a birdie on the tenth hole before finished up the round with five straight bogeys. He finished the tournament tied for 16th.

Personal life

Højgaard's twin brother

is a professional golfer and was also part of the Danish team that won the

Amateur wins

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

Source:

Professional wins (4)

European Tour wins (3)

Nordic Golf League wins (1)

Results in major championships

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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Summary

* Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (2022 Open Championship – 2024 Open Championship) * Longest streak of top-10s – none

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut

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 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* Junior Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2018 *

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 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

(representing Denmark):

(winner) *

Summer Youth Olympics Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

mixed team event (representing Denmark):

Professional * Hero Cup (representing Continental Europe): 2023 (winners) *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

(representing Europe):

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

(winners)

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Højgaard, Nicolai Danish male golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers Olympic golfers for Denmark Golfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Danish twins Sportspeople from the Region of Southern Denmark People from Billund Municipality 2001 births Living people 21st-century Danish sportsmen