Nicolai Højgaard had nothing to lose when he stepped onto the first tee on Saturday morning. He faced a nine-shot deficit to Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, and Hideki Matsuyama, was well out of contention, and knew an aggressive mindset could help him soar up the leaderboard.
And that he did. The young Dane turned in a 9-under 62, which matched the course record at Le Golf National, the site of this week’s Men’s Olympic Golf Competition. Funny enough, Nicolai’s twin brother, Rasmus, also turned in a 62 during the first round of the 2022 French Open, which also matched the original course record set by Eduardo Romero in 2005.
“I thought it was unbelievable,” said Thomas Bjørn, the 2018 Ryder Cup captain who mentors Højgaard and is the ‘Team Captain’ for the Danish contingency this week.
“I thought he showed a lot of strength and character. When you sit last night and talk about where you are, you know you need something 65 or below to play yourself in for a chance at a medal. Then, to go out and do it with that kind of pressure and that knowledge is pretty cool for a guy who’s 23 years old.”
Bjørn took Højgaard and Thorbjørn Olesen, Højgaard’s fellow Olympian from Denmark, to a French bistro on Friday evening to get out of their hotel and experience some Parisian cuisine. Whatever Højgaard and Olesen ate more than fueled them on Saturday, as Olesen played remarkably well, too. He shot a 5-under 66 to climb up to 8-under.
But he did not turn in a performance that resembled Højgaard’s, who shot the lowest round of the Olympics thus far.
“Made a few birdies to start with,” Højgaard said.
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“That makes the next few holes easier and allows you to relax a little bit into the round. I was playing with more quality today, hitting the fairways and the greens, and that’s the difference on this golf course: hitting fairways and giving yourself shots into the greens. I was in control today, and it was pretty nice.”
Højgaard missed only one fairway and hit 14-of-18 greens, which allowed him to make seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 14th. On that par-5, Højgaard’s second shot from 223 landed just three feet, eight inches away, which got him to 7-under for the round and 9-under for the championship.
Two more birdies followed on the 16th and 17th holes, and suddenly, Højgaard had a chance to shoot 61 with one more par-breaker on the 18th. But that was the least of his worries.
“The only thing I was focusing on standing on the 18th tee was I wanted to make a good swing. I’ve struggled a little bit on the finishing holes the last two days,” Højgaard explained.
“So it was a huge win for me to see myself hit fairways and hit two good iron shots into the last two. Then, when I walked to the 18th green, [my caddie] said to me it might be for the course record. I had it in mind when I hit the putt and thought I hit the putt correctly. It just stifled me in the end, but I was obviously pleased with the finish.”
Højgaard had an excellent look at birdie on 18, the most challenging hole on the course. But his attempt from 15 feet out just slid by on the low side, leaving the 2023 Ryder Cup star to settle for a 62. At least he has put himself in contention for a medal, as the Dane will begin Sunday’s final round three back of Schauffele and Jon Rahm, a much more manageable deficit than the one he faced on Saturday.
But the mindset remains the same.
“Just trying to stay patient,” Højgaard said.
“Keep the ball in play and on the greens. Even 30-footers have a chance. I think that’s the way to go about it. Play aggressively when you can, play disciplined when you have to, and then hopefully, it all ends up perfect tomorrow.”
He played nearly perfect golf on Saturday. So if he does so again on Sunday, Højgaard will no doubt have a place on the podium—perhaps with the gold draped around his neck.
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.
