Rasmus Højgaard (born 12 March 2001) is a Danish

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who won his first

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

event at the 2019

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is a men's professional golf tournament co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Sunshine Tour, and formerly by the Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, t ...

, becoming the third youngest player to win on the European Tour.

Amateur career

Højgaard first came to prominence in July 2016 when he won the Danish International Amateur Championship, was part of the Danish team that finished third in the European Boys' Team Championship and won the

McGregor Trophy The McGregor Trophy is the English Boys Under 16 Open Amateur Stroke-Play Championship. It was founded in 1982. History The event was founded as a boys' golf tournament in 1982 at the Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club by Roy Case, later to become pre ...

in successive weeks. In 2017 Højgaard received further recognition at the boys level by representing Continental Europe in the

Jacques Léglise Trophy The Jacques Léglise Trophy is an annual amateur boys' team golf competition between Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It was first played in 1977, as a one-day match before the Boys Amateur Championship, but since 1996 it has ...

. He was also part of the Danish team that won the 2017 European Boys Team Championship, beating the hosts Spain in the final. Early in 2018 Højgaard played for Europe in the

Bonallack Trophy The Bonallack Trophy is an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup which opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific. The venue alternates between courses in Europe and Asia/Pacific. The first compe ...

against Asia/Pacific. In June he won the individual competition for the boys Toyota Junior Golf World Cup, four strokes ahead of his brother Nicolai. Denmark also won the team competition. In September he was part of the Danish team that won the

2018 Eisenhower Trophy The 2018 Eisenhower Trophy took place 5–8 September at the Carton House Golf Club in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It was the 31st World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team eve ...

for the first time and he played for Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup later in the month.

Professional career

Højgaard turned professional at the start of 2019. After playing some tournaments on the

Nordic Golf League The Nordic Golf League is one of the third-tier men's professional golf tours, recognised by the European Tour, also known as the Satellite Tours. The top five players on the Order of Merit at the end of each season earn status to play on the seco ...

he played on the

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour, currently titled as the HotelPlanner Tour for sponsorship reasons and also sometimes referred to as the European Challenge Tour, is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European To ...

for the rest of the season. He was one of five runners-up in his first Challenge Tour event, the

Challenge de España The Challenge de España is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour that is played in Spain. It has run annually since 1999 except in 2005. Winners External linksCoverage on the Challenge Tour's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenge de Es ...

. Although he had a number of further top-10 finishes, he finished 21st in the Order of Merit, missing out on a place on the

2020 European Tour The 2020 European Tour was the 49th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972. Planned changes for 2020 Rule changes In order to combat slow play, from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Champio ...

. However he finished tied for 5th place in the Q School later in 2019 to gain a place on the tour. In December 2019, Højgaard won the

, the second event of the season, winning a three-man playoff against Renato Paratore and

Antoine Rozner Antoine Rozner (born 12 February 1993) is a French professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He has won three times on the tour, including wins at the Golf in Dubai Championship in December 2020 and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in ...

at the third extra hole. Højgaard was the first player born in the 2000s to win on the European Tour. He won in only his fifth European Tour start and became the third youngest winner in Tour history (), behind

Matteo Manassero Matteo Manassero (born 19 April 1993) is an Italian professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. In 2010, he became the youngest golfer to win a European Tour event. His most notable victory to date was in the 2013 BMW PGA Championshi ...

() and Danny Lee (). In August 2020, Højgaard won the ISPS Handa UK Championship in a playoff over Justin Walters for his second European Tour win. He became the second youngest player to achieve multiple wins on the Tour, after Matteo Manassero. He also claimed the UK Swing Order of Merit, a mini order of merit awarded during the six events played in the UK during the European Tour's return to golf after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in 2020. In August 2021, Højgaard won the

Omega European Masters The Omega European Masters is the Switzerland, Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was pr ...

in Switzerland. He shot a final-round 63 to post −13 and the clubhouse lead.

Bernd Wiesberger Bernd Klaus Wiesberger (; born 8 October 1985) is an Austrian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and formerly on the LIV Golf League. He finished the 2019 European Tour season in third place on the Race to Dubai standings, his be ...

who was leading by one shot at the time, double-bogeyed the final hole to finish one behind Højgaard. In July 2023, Højgaard won the Made in HimmerLand event in Denmark. He shot a final-round 64 and beat

Nacho Elvira Ignacio "Nacho" Elvira Mijares (born 17 February 1987) is a Spanish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. Amateur career Elvira played college golf at Texas A&M University where he won one event and was a two-time All-American. Pr ...

in a six-hole sudden-death playoff. In September 2024, Højgaard won the Amgen Irish Open for his fifth European Tour victory. Højgaard became the youngest player since

José María Olazábal José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish Basques, Basque professional golfer from the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has wo ...

in 1989 to collect five wins on the European Tour.

Personal life

Højgaard's twin brother Nicolai is a professional golfer and was also part of the Danish team that won the

. They became the first brothers to win in back-to-back weeks on the European Tour in 2021.

Amateur wins

*2015 Aon Junior Tour Drenge 1 *2016 Danish International Amateur Championship,

, DGU Elite Tour III Drenge *2017 Hovborg Kro Open, KGC Masters *2018 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup Source:

Professional wins (5)

European Tour wins (5)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for Japan (which has its own Japan Golf Tour). It is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on ...

and the

Sunshine Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the Southern Africa Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the F ...

European Tour playoff record (3–0)

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Boys' Team Championship The European Boys' Team Championship (Jean-Louis Dupont Trophy) is a European amateur team golf championship for men up to 18 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1980 and it has been played annually since. S ...

(representing Denmark): 2016, 2017 (winners) *

(representing the Continent of Europe): 2017 (winners) *

(representing Europe): 2018 *

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...

(representing Denmark):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* Junior Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2018 *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...