Augusta, Georgia – Rasmus Hojgaard and his identical twin brother Nicolai grew playing golf in Denmark, occasionally pretending that they were on the other side of the world in Augusta National.
“We would say ‘this is the putt to win the teachers,” said Rasmus, “and then try to compete with each other.”
This week, both will have the opportunity to fulfill that childhood dream, all while making the history of Masters.
The Danish duo will become the first set of twins to play In teachers together. There have been 18 sets of brothers who have played here together, more recently, Italy, Eduardo and Francesco Molinari of 2010-2012, but none has been twin.
“I think we really began to see the masters when we were about 10, 11 years old,” said Rasmus. “Then, 2012 when Bubba (Watson) won was probably the first real memory we have of the place. Yes, it is good to be here now.”
This is Nicolai’s second teacher.
Actually, he directed the tournament last year for 10 holes in the third round, only to fall from the dispute after shooting 74 and 76 on the weekend. He ended up in 16. He was the best Nicolai final in nine specialties, but not enough to win an automatic offer for this year’s tournament, since only the best 12 have a guaranteed place. He received a Special Invitation to Play Masters This year.
Rasmus is making his first appearance in the Masters, winning after finishing at the Top 50 in the world ranking last year. This will be his seventh major.
On Sunday, the 24 -year -old twins toured the historical course together and Nicolai pointed out some tips to his brother a little smaller on how to sail for one of the most difficult golf challenges this week since Rasmus has never played here. That preceded a joint press conference on Tuesday, where “sister” ended up after appearing with similar outfits.
“Completely randomly,” Nicolai joked.
The twins would be almost indecipherable if it weren’t for the hair a little longer of Rasmus.
There have been other twins in golfBut none as successful as hojgaards. Rasmus ranks 55 in the world and has won five times on the European tour, two more than his brother. Nicolai occupies the 82nd position and was a member of the winning team of the Ryder European Cup in 2023.
However, they will not play in the same group in the Masters on Thursday.
Nicolai will be in the second trio in the course, while Rasmus is removed in the afternoon.
There was a time that could have been a good thing. When growing, the twins were extremely competitive in the course and did not always get along. When one brother beat the other, he often went for days without speaking with each other.
“I don’t think we rely much at the time,” said Rasmus. “We would fight much more to say congratulations.”
However, there are no regrets.
Nicolai said that the fierce rivalry between brothers helped shape and lead them to reach where they are today.
“That helped a certain amount, really wanting to overcome and that competitive advantage we both have,” Nicolai said.
However, times have changed a bit.
The twins have matured and are now great supporters of the other’s game and the successes that have come with him. They can often be seen practicing together and helping themselves as much as possible when their games fader.
“We get old and we can hold our hands now and say congratulations when someone is playing well, and being brothers too and friends at the same time,” Nicolai said.
But competitiveness will always be there.
So what happens if the other brother does not take off? Defensor Champion Scottie Scheffler And wearing the green jacket on Sunday?
“It is probably very frustrating,” Rasmus said with a long laugh. “No, I think it would be great. It would be great. If something that happens, I think we will treat it at that time, but I think it is difficult to sit here and try to explain how it would feel.”
“Okay,” Nicolai added.
___
AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf