Ryder Cup star Nicolai Højgaard | Talk of the TOUR Podcast

Nicolai Højgaard discusses his experience on the PGA TOUR and his goals for the season, including the technical aspects of his game and the importance of having a strong support team. The Danish star also shares his plans for balancing his schedule between the PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour.

00:00 Introduction and Current Season on the PGA TOUR
01:07 Improving Technical Aspects and Consistency
02:14 Balancing the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour
04:56 Reflecting on Hometown and Thomas Bjorn’s Influence
07:47 Competitive Relationship with Twin Brother Rasmus
10:15 Opportunities for European Players on the PGA TOUR
12:24 Representing Europe in the Ryder Cup
15:07 Excitement for the Masters Tournament at Augusta National

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My guest today is in his first full year on the PJ he’s a special temporary member a season ago but Nikolai horard has made inroads and nearly won the Farmers Insurance open earlier this season is 50th in the FedEx Cup race 37th ranked player in the world and he’s

In the field in San Antonio this week at the Valera Texas open Nikolai good to see you thanks for carving out some time how’s the week going there in San Anton it’s lovely um it’s of course ijo a PID last year so good to be back weather is

Nice was in good shape they trigger conditions with the wind but we all we all love a good challenge how does the start of your I guess first full season kind of your sophomore season compared to what you went through last year is there a comfort level you’re a little

More entrenched in now 100% uh it definitely feels like way more normal now uh being here and uh feel quite comfortable um so I’m enjoying it it’s been an interesting little bit of mixed year but got close um couple months go and um yeah we’re working on the game to

To get get an that pration more often but yeah I’m enjoying it so far and and of forun in the season what are you working on in particular uh just a little bit uh there the technical stuff a little bit of arm structure and the swing to keep more consistent working on

You know focus and and stuff like that and actually we’re working quite a lot on on um bovery stuff so that’s there’s a few things but all things you be kind to do something um about so um it’s exciting there’s always good to have something to work them that’s a lot of

Things you just mentioned there’s a lot of different components that have to fall into place to contend and win right I mean do you have a a um large Entourage of of people that are part of your team helping to push you across the

Line yeah I I got a fairly big team I’d say um there’s always someone out uh every week almost so it could be fish could be coach and yeah we got a good plan in place and and Award with some really good people and I enjoy spending

Time with and um that’s very important I think um when when when you do this for a living you got to find people you get motivated by and I got some great people around me so we we kind of doing doing a little bit every day to to kind of

Achieve the long-term goals what I did mention in the introduction was that you have won three times on the DP World Tour as well I know you still have some level of commitment to competing over there you’ve always been a global player Nikolai even though you’re just 23 years

Of age what does the schedule look like like this year how are you going to balance it all uh yeah um I’d love to play more in Europe but with the SK now it’s the focus is here I’m enjoying it as I said and and there’s some great

Events Great Courses here and and the focus is primarily just being on the PTA some rest the place now I’m going to play in Europe when the season ends in in in in over here so um going to play a few events W worth every year and

Switzerland and you know I’m excited for that but but the primary focus is just competing here now and and we’ll get back in the summer playing Scottish in the open which of unfortune two my favorite events and but yeah at some point you know down Lon you all love to

Be in a position where you can mix it up a little bit but you know with travel and everything else and you want to perform when you when you show up at events you want to feel fresh and ready it’s tough going back and forth so you

Got to you got to you got to pick the right weeks and uh so far I’m um I’m really enjoying it and and um yeah I’d like to mix it in the future but but for now focus is is in the states I know you have a primary residence in your

Homeland of Denmark wondering if you are going to put down roots in in the US anytime soon what’s your base over here yeah at some point I will but I haven’t really figured out where to go yet uh I’ve been a few different places and I haven’t really probably found the place

Yet I’m going to I’m probably going to look at a few different places well this season and and going forward with the weeks off to trying to figure out where to go because um you want a base you want somewhere to go and drop all your stuff off and and also practicing having

A golf course you go to and and stuff like I think it’s so important when you have all weeks and you actually feel a bit more it’s easier to relax and and chill a little bit instead of going to hotel hotel and you know have andb but

You still have to collect all your stuff all the time and and pack and I just think it’s it’s it sounds like a luxury problem but it’s like a it’s like a it’s like a thing where it’s a small thing that BS it difference of really committing 100% to it and and feeling

Like you have those good over weeks that’s my that’s my thoughts about it and at some point I I’ll figure it all out I think it will happen naturally down the line I’m not in a stress to find something I enjoy being back home in Denmark and when I go back now I

Actually enjoy it way more because I’m not theread at of so it actually works out pretty well at the moment but you know at some point I I’ll I’ll find some something in the St band Denmark if I’m pronouncing that correctly your home Town tell me a little about what it was

Like when you and your your identical twin brother Rasmus were growing up there yeah uh very small City in Denmark uh it’s actually quite interesting City so it’s where Lego was originally founded back in the days and you know today Lego is a worldwide um recognizable brand huge

Brand we spend countless hours doing it you know I I can I mean so many hours and went to the theme park this well so I love being back in band uh it’s where my parents live now and you know it’s every time you go back to parents

Place where you where you grow up and stuff it’s it feels like really home you can have an apartment you can have a house but the only time you really feel at home is when you go back to that home and I really enjoy it it’s a cool little

City you know everyone kind of like it’s that small and there probably 6 and half thousand people so you kind of know kind of know the people and as I said this home it’s where you that’s where we spend a lot of hours and uh practicing it’s where we spend hours playing

Football and handball and table tennis and went to school and all that stuff so it has a special place so a small little city with a lot of Lego and I love that uh who were the people that inspired you as you were just getting started in the game I would

Imagine Thomas bjm was a big influence right yeah 100% um thas been a huge part of it actually we met for the first time back in you know probably back in 17 I say I’ve been seeing him a few times earlier but we really met him where we

We sat down and until was the 17 and slowly um to this day we have a really good relationship he’s been a kind of mental for us and it’s I think it’s been very important to have a a guy like him um to kind of guide us a little bit but

Also just you know he can always ask questions you can get answers he’s been there he’s done it he’s done it all you know so and now working with sa hon he’s a former players well it’s I I really enjoy it it’s good to have those people around and they’ve had

The club in the hands in those situations you talk about all the time hitting exactly that shot in that sh situation and they’ve hit that shot as well as you know you can relate to it and sometimes that conversation is the only conversation you can have with them

And nobody else because they’ve been there and and I think that’s that’s been really a thing for me um last few years so see watching Thomas what he did what son and and and now being close to him and and also toron has been an influence

For us and um you know it’s it it’s pretty cool so now being next to them and and good friends we hanging out now and you know off the course as well and yeah hopefully we Inspire the next generation of of players what has the dynamic of your relationship with Rasmus

Been like uh from a competitive standpoint Through The Years how competitive has it been along the same trajectory how much did you guys push each other through the years uh it’s been it’s been very competive it’s in everything we do uh it’s relationship is actually it’s becoming better and better

Because but now we’re not fighting anymore it’s very rare we’re fighting but back in the days and we’re fighting every day you know it’s it was who who can run the fastest to the to the car gets the front seat who whatever it was great from

School you know it’s and with the be of everything it’s been a thing every time we always had each other and I think that’s been so important for us we never had that moment where it’s like oh he’s saying just by yourself and you need someone to be around and we always had

Each other we never really feel like we needed anybody else and actually that’s been a big part of probably our success and how we pushed each other in the right direction you always see one playing but them the next one and it’s been like that every year and it’s just

Yeah it’s pretty cool uh there’s obviously positive and negatives but I can’t find many negatives other than when he’s playing really good golf and I’m not you guys did sure a really cool moment when you both won a week apart I want to say it was 2021 you won the

Italian Open Rasmus won the the European Masters as well what was the week like did you properly celebrate together you know it was it was a weird situation uh R won in twitz and I was back home watching it for my parents and it was

Like a when I haven’t won at that time and he’s won three times so I was like felt like I was far behind and in some way and I was actually quite injured little bit prior to Italy and I got an invite for that event it was supp to

Play got an invite and then it went down to to iny and play really good golf for suddenly sending at 18th Gren having a threefoot to win and and I didn’t even realize I didn’t think about he won the week before and nobody has done that

Before um but then after I got interview and somebody said you know you the first to go back to back and it’s a pretty it’s a pretty cool feature to have it’s a pretty cool thing when we think about it and we love to do it more often but

To have that and he’s standing on the on the 18th green and we celebrating and that was pretty cool um it’s one of those things you always look back at I haven’t been at his wins only at himand last week and out last last year sorry in in Denmark and that

Was pretty cool so being there for each other when we have success is is pretty cool so the PJ tour and the DP World Tour have really been building this working relationship that they’ve had in place Nicoli over the last couple years and the PJ tour is now offering

Eligibility and status for players off the DP World Tour Matthew Pavone who you nearly took down at Tory Pines in fact took advantage of that to win the Farmers Insurance open do you like that that Avenue that pathway is being opened up for players in Europe yeah I see it

As a as a positive it’s it’s a now as a direct line to go to on the to go on the PJ tour um before you had to play s of 50 and world go championship mjes and all that and now as a direct path to to

Go on the PJ tour and that’s where everybody has dream of playing I think it’s good I think it’s it’s it’s pretty cool to see the guys coming from Europe you see a lot of good players you see playing well this this season um and I think it’s motivating uh for people to

Have that opportunity um and also for players who probably haven’t had played the best golf and had to work hard and getting the game up again you know it’s there that’s the other way where we can go back to Europe and have a and play

And then you know I see I see there a two-way thing it’s always a bonus um you you you got players you the pathway from Europe to P to the to the is it’s pretty cool I mean it’s it just you can you can feel it on the players the fields in

Europe got were strong last year and I think everybody was more excited and want to play more because I want to get in those 10 cards and I you know we fail it we we made a we made a plan last year where it was our only focus is there’s

Two Focus one of them was Rome H September R and the other thing was getting one of those 10 cards that was the two focus and it changed a little bit for me around you know um putana and and and after that with with the uh temporary membership and all that

But the focus is was just those 10 cars because it’s getting to that point now where you you really want to you want you want to play over here and the way the schedule and the way the World of Golf is looking at the moment that

That’s the place to go um so I think it’s pretty cool they have a you have that option now and you have that opportunity to go there and I think you see some players actually taking a manage of it how long has been assemble well you were one of the players who

Represented your continent as part of the European Ridder Cup team in Rome as a captain selection what was it like to get the call from Captain Luke Donald Nikolai yeah it was snow freaking uh it was so nerve-wracking uh because I when I started the season it was never in my

Mind uh coming off a really poor 202 and then slowly bilding into the season coming back to play Prague and Switzerland and playing go and I made a b against 17 in switzland in the final round and I actually felt like that could that could lose that could lose

The but I was say there’s no way that one hole can do that when you look at the bigger picture um but I was hoping for it um I was so nervous because they said I asked him after the round I said so what now he’s going to call you and

They going to call you later and I was sitting there in the room waiting for him so nervous and I was obviously very pissed because I just made a b in 17 and finish off poly because we were all we all had a chance around when I was in 16th green I

Had a birdie pot I think to get tie for the lead Maybe you know and I know they made a few made a few birdies at 16 17 and went off to win but there was a few players of us who had a chance to to actually get

Close to winland he ended up making bird 16 17 and I made had a good chance 16 part by 17 and I was out of it and I like that was the thinger that kept me out of the R so when Luke call in the evening it was I was sitting there in

Shock and I obviously can’t I can’t swear here so um but I was like hey it was it was so cool it was said it’s a phone call you never forget him um and then later get to Rome and then being proud of that and and get that trophy

Back to Europe was pretty cool it’s definitely the highlight of my career and Europe’s going to run it back with Luke Donald at Beth Page in a couple years I’m sure you would you would die to be part of that team again it’s a really exciting time for the European

Rider Cup team I think Nikolai not only with stalwarts like Ramen mroy but the young infusion of of blood and energy like yourself and and sep straa and the like I’m sure you want to be a part of many of these teams in the future 100%

Being part of that one now you want to be part of that team for the next 20 years you watched your whole life and now actually been there and seeing up close what it’s really about it’s it’s the coolest thing in the world it doesn’t get any better like it can’t get

Any better I can’t see how um so I want to be n te 25 uh and I’m going to do everything I can to be there again and it’s a pretty cool opportunity now for for the European golfers uh and you see a lot of young young golfers actually

Having that chance now so we could have a and there a few Scandinavian players playing well well so we might see a few Scandinavian players start uh one thing real quick before we close and thank you for your time you’re competing in your first Masters next week at Augusta

National how stoked are you for the experience really for with um it’s for me it’s actually crazy to think about major seasoning starting now it f like has gone so fast and now you playing Master next week and prepping for for for this week is Port the week and then

You go into next week and now the season really starts so really excited um really really excited for next week soak it up enjoy every moment and great luck this week in San Antonio thanks so much Nikolai I too