It was quite a day for the Hojgaard family at the Belfry. One identical twin, Nicolai, came close to winning the British Masters after the other, Rasmus, a few minutes younger, had qualified for the Ryder Cup and given an insight into the turmoil he had endured. “There were a couple of times I had to calm myself down and not let it spin out of control,” he said.
It means that at the age of 24 both Danish twins have made Ryder Cup teams, Nicolai achieving the same feat in 2023. At one point Nicolai may also have been thinking about joining his twin at Bethpage Black next month. Had he won here and then played well next week, he would have provided the European captain Luke Donald with a huge dilemma, but the double may now be another year’s dream.
Instead, Alex Noren, 43, won his first tournament for seven years and his second British Masters title to go with the one from 2016. Five back-nine birdies gave him a two-stroke lead going down the last and, although he made a hash of it, a six-foot bogey putt gave him a slender win over Hojgaard and Kazuma Kobori, the world No234 from New Zealand. Kobori’s own finishing flourish included three birdies and an eagle in his last four holes, while Hojgaard’s tilt finally faded when an eagle putt on the 17th green came up short.
Nicolai Hojgaard looks unlikely to make the Ryder Cup team alongside his twin brother this year
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After all his injury woes, Noren could have been forgiven had he got carried away in the moment, but he scoffed at the suggestion he might even make the Ryder Cup now. “I think it’s dismissed,” he said of the subject, although his round of 67 took him to 16 under and served as a reminder of his talent.
For the overnight leader, Matt Fitzpatrick, it was a deeply frustrating day and he faded to sixth place, the only man in the top 18 to be over par for his final day. He must hope that round of 74 does not weigh heavily on Donald’s mind before he makes his six captain’s picks on September 1.
He started the day a shot clear of the field and two ahead of Nicolai, but early struggles set the tone and a series of bum notes followed. Way below his best, he missed a glut of putts and was seven adrift by the close.
Fitzpatrick endured a frustrating Sunday, dropping to sixth
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His mood contrasted sharply with that of Rasmus. The first player born this century to win on the DP World Tour, he had needed to finish 29th or better to overhaul Shane Lowry in the six automatic Ryder Cup places. By the time he completed his round he knew that was guaranteed, and he ended up tied for 13th. “I’ve been so stressed out on the course today,” he said, a now-permanent grin on his face. “I was telling my caddie out there I don’t know how I’m going to be able to do this.”
Having started well with a trio of birdies, Hojgaard had to withstand a wobble as he made four bogeys in eight holes. At one point another dropped shot would have dropped him out of the Ryder Cup places. Permutations and palpitations. “I knew every bogey was very costly,” he said. “I was well aware of the situation. Every hole was a tough battle.” A timely birdie on the 15th settled the bubbling doubts and a round of 71 was more than enough.
Two years ago it was Nicolai who was picked for the Ryder Cup. Although Rasmus was resigned to not making the team by then, Nicolai admitted it was still hard to ring him with the news. Luckily, he said Rasmus was “more excited than I was”. Nicolai has since tumbled down the rankings, while Rasmus’s win at last year’s Irish Open pushed him into the reckoning.
He does have some experience of the Ryder Cup, though, having gone to support Nicolai in Rome, where he ended up driving Thomas Bjorn, a vice-captain and the older twin’s mentor, around the Marco Simone Golf Club, drinking in the unique atmosphere of the biennial clash.
Both players have made no secret of their desire to make the same Ryder Cup team. “A hundred per cent, it’s probably the biggest goal we have together,” said Rasmus. “If it happens this year it would be amazing, I’m sure we’ll fight to do it another time if it doesn’t.”
That both are now Ryder Cup men is some achievement for the twins from Legoland, or at least the home of the original park in Denmark, and they have built a combined reputation by ploughing parallel paths. “The next 25 years will be fun to watch,” Bjorn said a few years back. “They are some serious talent.”
Noren lifted the British Masters trophy but scoffed when asked about his own Ryder Cup chances
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So Europe’s automatic qualifiers are now confirmed as Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Rasmus Hojgaard. It seems certain that Donald will also pick Lowry, Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Sepp Straka, with one place remaining.
Has Fitzpatrick done enough? Donald would have liked to see the Yorkshireman show some class under pressure at the Belfry, and a dire Ryder Cup record could yet work against him.
However, a Ryder Cup spot would also be a fitting reward for his return to form after bridging some troubled waters. From the vertiginous high of winning the US Open in 2022, he fell from No6 in the world to No85 by May. He took decisive action, splitting from the coach who had been with him since childhood, Mike Walker, and long-term caddie Billy Foster.
His new coach, Mark Blackburn, wanted a physical assessment and deduced Fitzpatrick has unusually long arms which, in the player’s own words, could lead to his swing being “all out of whack”. Hence, the sight of him trying to “pinch my shoulder blades together” before playing his irons so that he does not need to “stretch” his arms.
The long and short of it is that the changes appear to have helped. Fitzpatrick had four consecutive top-ten finishes before middling results in the FedEx Cup play-offs, and a conversation with Donald convinced him to play at the Belfry. Now for the nervous wait.