Nerves? What nerves? Team Europe’s Danish rookie, Nicolai Hojgaard eased himself into his first ever Ryder Cup match by holing a monster putt for birdie on the first hole at Marco Simone on Friday afternoon.
Hojgaard sat out Friday morning’s foursomes action as Europe romped to a first-ever clean sweep out of the gate, putting the home team in command and well on their way to recovering the Ryder Cup trophy.
But having had time to nervously watch most of his teammates kick off their individual campaigns, the 22-year-old showed very few signs of apprehension once his own round began by giving himself a long-range birdie chance on the par-four opener via two clean strikes.
It was an opportunity Hojgaard took with both hands as the rookie perfectly weighted a subtly-sweeping right-to-left putt down the slope and into the front of the hole.
The Dane’s brilliance gave Team Europe an early lead in their match with Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele, although they American pair did not take long to fight back against Hojgaard and partner, Jon Rahm.
LIV golfer Koepka sunk a par putt on the third after two wayward tee shots from the European duo.
WATCH NICOLAI HOJGAARD’S MONSTER OPENING BIRDIE PUTT
Nicolai Hojgaard’s first ever Ryder Cup hole – WOW! pic.twitter.com/mwwLQv3bKtSeptember 29, 2023
Hojgaard’s unshakeable demeanour was clearly something that drew European captain Luke Donald into selecting the Dane – alongside Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka – as one of his six wildcard picks.
Speaking about the 22-year-old once the chosen half-a-dozen were unveiled, Donald said: “He’s a young superstar. The world is his oyster when it comes to golf. We’re seeing the beginning of stuff he’s already accomplished at such a young age. Obviously, part of me having six picks was that I wanted some very in-form players, and what he did the last two weeks was very, very special.”
Another example of Nicolai’s maturity and composure occurred when the twin had to fill in for his brother Rasmus at the Hero Cup at the start of 2023 due to an injury.
Continental Europe’s Nicolai Hojgaard and Francesco Molinari celebrate winning a…
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