Rasmus Højgaard is hoping he can take inspiration from the European success on the PGA TOUR so far this season as he makes his debut in THE PLAYERS.
As the top-ranked DP World Tour member to earn dual membership via the Race to Dubai Rankings last year, the Dane continues his rookie campaign stateside this week at TPC Sawgrass.
Joining the likes of Major Champion Rory McIlroy, Ryder Cup star Ludvig Åberg and FedEx Cup leader Sepp Straka, Højgaard is one of 30 DP World Tour members in the 144-player field in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Across his first four starts on the PGA TOUR this year, the 23-year-old’s best finish came at the WM Phoenix Open in February, when Belgium’s Thomas Detry won his maiden PGA TOUR title.
In a Ryder Cup year, four of the 11 PGA TOUR events to have been held so far this year have been won by Europeans – with Højgaard eager to add his name to that list.
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“It’s been obviously a little different from playing full time on the DP World Tour but so far I've enjoyed it,” he said.
“I have the belief that I can do well over here, so to see other Europeans do it is cool, but I want to do it myself now.
“I don't know if you can say you've timed it well or not, but I'm happy where I am at the moment, starting my career on the PGA TOUR and to be able to play Sawgrass now is very exciting.”
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Højgaard finished a career-best second on the Race to Dubai Rankings last season, only losing out to McIlroy on the season-long standings.
Across an incredibly consistent campaign, he won his fifth DP World Tour title at the Amgen Irish Open and recorded seven further top tens.
Of those, two were runner-up finishes in Ras Al Khaimah and in Dubai, where he had suffered heartache at the end of the 2023 campaign.
As twin brother Nicolai celebrated his biggest triumph with victory at the DP World Tour Championship, Rasmus missed out on joining him on the PGA TOUR last year as he finished one place outside the top ten players who were not already exempt on the final Race to Dubai Rankings.
"It was very disappointing the finish to the 2023 season," reflected Rasmus in an interview with the DP World Tour last week.
"I was happy for Nicolai to win the tournament and for me to miss out by one spot was tough.
"I was in those mixed emotions of being happy for him but very disappointed for myself.
"So, to go out in 2024, and secure the number one card was very satisfying, considering how tough the year before was for me.
"That was big [to win the top card] for me. It felt like it gave me some good preparation going into this season."
In his opening two months of the year on the PGA TOUR, Højgaard has played at celebrated venues Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines, in the raucous atmosphere of TPC Scottsdale and the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is to come.
“Pebble Beach [at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am] was a solid start to the season,” he said. “I feel like I probably played a bit better than the result (T22), but I carried it on into Phoenix and played really good there.
“Obviously had a poor finish and managed to drop quite a bit on the leaderboard but it was fun to be up there in contention, playing in the final group and seeing Detry get his win so there’s been some good stuff so far.
“I need to have a little more consistency.”
Having Nicolai to count upon for advice has been a great benefit, with the pair based in Florida after becoming members at Panther National.
“I've played some great tournaments,” he said. “I’ve got to learn a few new people which is good.
“I’ve been in the States ever since the season started so I was curious to see if I was going to enjoy living there.
“To be fair, I’ve actually really enjoyed it, and we’ve joined a good golf club, and everything seems very easy compared to what Nicolai tried to do last year, flying back and forth from Denmark to the US.
“For him to have that experience, he was pretty quick to say that we’re going to have a base over here to make life easier.”
With everything so new, however, he has found it hard to set expectations but admits thoughts have turned ahead to him making history alongside Nicolai as the first set of twins to play in the Masters Tournament next month.
“Nicolai played some good golf there last year and I’ve heard a lot about the place,” he said.
“I feel like I already know the place, even though I haven’t been there, through all the coverage I’ve seen throughout the years.
“They all say it is such a special week. The history and the aura about the place is what I’m looking forward to experiencing.”
But before that, comes the aura of the signature par-three 17th at Sawgrass, with the island hole one of the most renowned of its kind and one which could play a telling role in the outcome of THE PLAYERS.
“People say it's very different from playing a practice round than in a tournament round, which I fully understand,” he said.
“It can play so different in various winds and distances. It’s one of the more iconic holes on the PGA TOUR, so I am really looking forward to that.”
