Five things to know: Nicolai Højgaard

Danish rising star Nicolai Højgaard produced a stunning final round which came mightily close to denying Sergio Garcia victory at the KLM Open.

The 18-year-old has been on the European Challenge Tour this season after deciding to turn professional earlier this year.

Højgaard was joint leader at 17 under par alongside Garcia with four holes remaining, and found himself with an eagle putt at the last in a bid to force a play-off with the Spaniard.

His putt slid left of the hole as Garcia carded a par to secure a one shot triumph over the young Dane who stormed into the headlines at The International.

Here are five things you need to know about Nicolai Højgaard.

Part of a golfing family

Nicolai Højgaard is not the only golfer in his family as identical twin brother Rasmus is also a recently turned professional golfer. The pair have shone on the amateur stage with Nicolai peaking at Number Five in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, while Rasmus’ highest position was at Number 22. The twins also made history in the prestigious Eisenhower Trophy, where alongside John Axelsen, they led Denmark to a first World Amateur Team Championship title. Their potential is there to see, with even 2018 Ryder Cup winning Captain Thomas Bjørn calling out his fellow Danes as ones to watch in the future, with both players turning professional earlier this year.

Winning pedigree

Højgaard enjoyed a successful 2018 on the amateur circuit and will hope to carry that over to the professional arena. He secured back to back wins in his homeland at the Bravo Tours Open - by Visit Tonder and then on his next start at the Hovborg Kro Open three weeks later. A sixth placed finish at the German Boys Open followed before second at the Toyota Junior World Cup. Højgaard showed his fondness for the Netherlands with his third win in nine weeks in the European Amateur Championship at the Royal Hague Golf & Country Club.

Brotherly love at The Junior Ryder Cup

His prolific form earned the Dane his place in The 2018 Junior Ryder Cup alongside brother Rasmus. They even played together on the first morning as they halved their Foursomes match against Akshay Bhatia and Michael Thorbjornsen. He claimed a 4&2 victory over Canon Claycomb on Tuesday’s Singles to secure won 1 ½ points against Team USA in the narrow defeat at Disneyland Golf.

Seventh heaven for Nicolai

The 18-year-old has only secured invites into events and this was no different on what was just his seventh appearance on the European Tour. He had played in the last three editions of the Made in Denmark and twice at the Porsche European Open, in addition to the 147th Open Championship. Højgaard’s easily eclipsed his previous best result of tied for 71 at last week’s Porsche European Open, where he missed the cut.

Where now?

The Dane has a nice cheque of 222,220 euros after his second placed finish at The International, which has also earned him a slot in the field at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews at the end of the month. More invites are sure to come his way as he aims to forge a career on the European Tour in the next few years.