Nicolai Højgaard, the Danish Ryder Cup player with some big professional wins to his name, will be bringing his brand of big-hitting golf to the Open de España presented by Madrid, which will be played from 8 to 11 October at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
The 25-year-old Scandinavian joins an already mouth-watering list of title contenders that includes Jon Rahm, defending champion Marco Penge, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and, as has been customary in recent years, a long line of well-known Spaniards.
Nicolai Højgaard’s place among the favourites comes off the back of an already impressive career, in which he currently divides his time between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
During his amateur years, he helped Denmark win the European Boys’ Team Championship in 2017, beating Spain in the final, shortly before claiming victory, still as an amateur, in the professional Bravo Tours Open, part of the Nordic Golf League.
The World Amateur Team Championship and the European Amateur Championship also soon found their way into his trophy cabinet, earning him a place in The Open in 2018. Such a wealth of experience hastened what had already become inevitable as Nicolai Højgaard moved into the professional ranks in 2019.
His first DP World Tour victory came in September 2021 at the Italian Open, where he finished one shot ahead of Tommy Fleetwood and Adrian Meronk. His twin brother Rasmus had won the previous event, the Omega European Masters, making them the first brothers in the history of the European circuit to win in consecutive weeks.
Nicolai Højgaard’s second victory came in February 2022 at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, where he finished the four rounds on 24 under par. A year and a half later, in November 2023, came his latest European triumph, winning the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
As if that were not enough, Nicolai Højgaard’s career moved to the next level when he was selected to represent Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, one of the pivotal moments of his golfing life. There, he contributed to the home victory with two halved matches, one of them in the final day singles against American Xander Schauffele.
Two runner-up finishes for the Dane this year on the other side of the Atlantic, at the Houston Open and the Truist Championship, as well as a third place at the Phoenix Open, will ensure Nicolai Højgaard is one of the major attractions of this year’s Open de España presented by Madrid.
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