THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard have been lighting up the tour with five wins between them, and many foresee a successful Ryder Cup pairing for decades to come. Kit Alexander spoke to them just before the British Masters

- Kit Alexander

European golf is in a transition period and Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard are at the forefront of a new generation of players stepping up to the plate on the DP World Tour and being spoken about as cornerstones of future Ryder Cup teams. The hype and expectation around the 21-year-old twins is massive, but they are already starting to fulfil their potential.

They’ve been touted as ‘ones to watch’ since their early teens. Both had hugely successful amateur careers in Europe and played in the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup before turning professional not long before their 18th birthdays, at the start of 2019. Rasmus had notched three DP World Tour wins by the end of August last year, and Nicolai got in on the act by winning his first the very next week (at Marco Simone, the host venue of next year’s Ryder Cup) before adding a second victory in February.

Both Rasmus and Nicolai are on the fast track to the game’s elite and will be playing in all of golf’s biggest events very soon, so we sat down with them to discover where they’ve come from, how far they think they can go, and what it’s like to be out on tour with your twin...

How did you both get into golf?

Rasmus: When we were about four years old our dad brought us to the golf course. We think it was so he could spend more time with us.

Nicolai: It took some years for us to get good and really enjoy it. I remember one of the first times we came running back home to our mum saying we’d hit it 50 metres. But it took maybe five years before we really wanted to go and play, because we played all different kinds of sports.

When did golf become your number one sport?