Nicolai Hojgaard

Nicolai Højgaard left it late to join his twin brother Rasmus in the field at Royal Portrush, before going on to record his best major result at The 153rd Open.

Having qualified a week earlier at the Genesis Scottish Open - where three Open Qualifying Series places were up for grabs - he went on to finish T14 after an impressive week on the County Antrim coast.

Nicolai was the first of the Højgaard brothers to make the Ryder Cup, being selected as a wild card for the match in Rome, and he was also the first to make the game’s top 30. That came just after he won the 2023 DP World Tour Championship to finish runner-up to Rory McIlroy on the Race to Dubai rankings.

His Open debut at Carnoustie in 2018 was as European Amateur Champion and the twins then became Eisenhower Trophy world team champions in Ireland, pipping by one stroke an American line-up which included Collin Morikawa.

Three years later they shared more history as the first brothers to win back-to-back DP World Tour events. Rasmus struck first at the Omega European Masters, then Nicolai lifted the Italian Open for his first victory on the Tour.

In April 2025 they finished as runners-up on the PGA Tour, missing out on the Zurich Classic of New Orleans by one stroke to Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin.

Like Rasmus, Nicolai earned his place at The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale after finishing in the top 25 in the final Race to Dubai rankings.