Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard survived a mid-round wobble to cling on and claim the inaugural Ras Al Khaimah Championship on Sunday.
The Dane picked up the lion’s share of the $2 million purse on offer as the event made its debut on the DP World Tour at Al Hamra Golf Club.
He was looking like a safe bet to grab his second DP World Tour title after claiming the Italian Open in September last year. However, the alarm bells were ringing as a double-bogey on nine was followed by another dropped shot on 12. But he steadied his nerves for the run-in with birdie-eagle on 13 and 14 to ease home with a 68 and win by a comfortable four strokes on 24-under.
Nicolai was cheered on by twin brother Rasmus — who had a day to forget as his 75 left him in a tie for 42nd on eight-under.
Jordan Smith emerged as best of the rest in a low-scoring tournament, the Englishman’s round of 66 faltering on 15 as his bogey gave Hojgaard some extra breathing room. He signed for 20-under for the four days.
Second-round leader David Law faded to finish eighth as Haotong Li equalled the Al Hamra course record with a brilliant 63 to move up to finish in joint third alongside Austria’s Lukas Nemecz, Frenchman Matthieu Pavon and Dubai resident Adrian Otaegui.
Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen was seventh on 16-under beside Law, while Oliver Bekker of Germany, Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Shaun Norris of South Africa were another stroke back to round out the top 10.
The win means that the average age of the first four winners in the DP World Tour era is under 25, with Hojgaard joining Thriston Lawrence (25), Thomas Pieters (30) and Viktor Hovland (24).
He will now play alongside his twin brother in an innovative new televised team event - the Hero Challenge - on Tuesday, before the Ras Al Khaimah Classic tees off a second consecutive week at Al Hamra.
Smith’s runner-up finish means back-to-back top 10s for the Englishman, after finishing tied ninth at last week’s Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, and he moved up to seventh in the DP World Tour Rankings.
After receiving the trophy, Hojgaard said: “This is very sweet. It’s been such a tough grind today. I got off to a good start and then I struggled quite a bit. I had to dig deep out there, the turning point was on 13 where I saw that Jordan made a run and was two up, and I stepped up with a clutch finish so I’m really happy.
“I was thinking that I was throwing the tournament away when I made double-bogey and then bogey on 12, I had to dig deep and my good friend Christian on the bag did a brilliant job keep me focused on motivated for the finish and it turned out pretty good.
“I’m quite excited for the future now. I wasn’t really thinking about it, but obviously when you’re playing good you start looking at all the rankings. I’m motivated to keep going and get better and hopefully quality for those big tournaments.”
Smith added: “It is unfortunate not to win but I am happy overall. I was disappointed with the last couple of holes, missing those couple of greens, but overall really happy. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”
