Nicolai Højgaard acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green after completing his first round on Friday morning at the 2024 Masters. | Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Nicolai Højgaard, the 23-year-old from Denmark, starred in the Ryder Cup last fall and is contending in his Masters debut.
You must have a top-notch short game to succeed at Augusta National.
Nicolai Højgaard did not have that before this week, ranking 171st on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: around the greens. He also ranks 169th in scrambling percentage and 185th in sand saves, emphasizing the notion that his short game needs work.
Yet, the big-swinging Dane currently ranks first among the 89 players in the Masters field in strokes gained around the greens. He chipped in twice on Thursday, on the 7th and 12th holes, which helped him card a 5-under 67 in his first round.
In doing so, Højgaard tied the lowest round at The Masters by a European player in their tournament debut, per Justin Ray.
“I thought I played pretty well today and yesterday,” Højgaard said.
“It wasn’t easy. The wind was swirling, and there was a lot of wind.”
He finished his last three holes with three straight pars on Friday morning, thanks to the suspension of play due to darkness late Thursday.
“It wasn’t that easy getting out there that early, and the conditions completely changed with a different wind direction,” Højgaard added.
“But I’m happy with how I played the last three holes, and now I’m looking forward to getting out there again.”
In addition to his hole-outs, Højgaard played Amen Corner in 3-under par, with birdies at 11 and 13 to go along with his chip-in at 12. He also made birdie at 15 after bogeying the 14th, as his tee shot there nestled up against a pine tree.
“You start the back nine, 10, 11, 12, it’s tough holes, and I feel like I played them really well yesterday,” Højgaard added.
“I feel like that’s the part of the round where you really want to hang in there.”
Højgaard did more than hang in there throughout the opening round. If his short game continues to show up throughout the weekend, then who knows, perhaps Denmark will have its first Masters champion.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
