Rasmus Højgaard had his patience tested as he ground out a one-shot lead at the Danish Golf Championship on Saturday.
The home favorite led by two heading into the third round, but he was soon overtaken by playing partner Marco Penge when he bogeyed the second and the Englishman birdied the fifth and sixth.
Both birdied No. 8 before Penge bogeyed the 11th to slip back into a tie. When Højgaard, 24, nervelessly birdied the 17th, the Dane was in the lead on his own.
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Højgaard, who won this event in 2023, was forced to chip on to the 17th fairway following an errant tee shot at the last, but he saved par to remain in front at 13 under at Furesø Golf Club.
Asked if his heart was pumping when putting from six feet for par at the last, Højgaard said: “It was, but it was dead quiet, so I was looking forward to seeing what the reaction was going to be like. It’s going to be an interesting day tomorrow.
“Hopefully I can bring some tears out there tomorrow. This is our fifth major, so it would be cool if I could stand there with a trophy tomorrow.”
Højgaard is eighth on Team Europe’s Ryder Cup points list, just outside the automatic top six spots, with Luke Donald making six captain picks after the Betfred British Masters on Aug. 24.
Englishman Ben Schmidt carded eight birdies and a bogey as he equaled the course record with a 64 to climb into third at 9 under.
Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg recorded the 16th ace of the 2025 DP World Tour campaign with a hole-in-one at the par-3 second.
