DP World Tour Championship winner Nicolai Højgaard admits he’s been getting “goosebumps” at the prospect of winning a gold medal ahead of the golf competition at the Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old, who will represent Denmark alongside Dubai resident Thorbjorn Olesen at Le Golf National, is making his debut at the Olympic Games after enjoying arguably the finest 12 months of his career.
The Dane made his Ryder Cup debut at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club last September, helping Team Europe secure a memorable victory over the U.S. in Rome, before picking up his biggest professional title at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates saw him catapult up the Race to Dubai Rankings, where he finished the season in second place behind Rory McIlroy, and move into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for the first time, ensuring a debut at this year’s Masters Tournament.
That surge up the OWGR also helped secure his place in the Olympic Games, with the International Golf Federation utilising the OWGR to create the Olympic Golf Rankings as a method of determining eligibility.
With play getting underway tomorrow in the men’s competition, Højgaard can’t wait to put on his national colours once again as he looks to change the perception of golf in his homeland.
“I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it because putting on the national shirt is a really special feeling,” said Højgaard.
“I've had it in my amateur days representing Denmark and Euros and World Cup and all that, and it was some of my best experience in golf.
“To have that feeling now and that dream of getting a medal and getting back home, I can't even think of how the reception will be in Denmark. Hopefully that will be something that transforms golf a little bit. That could be a game change in golf and Denmark.
“Yeah, I mean, the thought of the national song coming on when you're standing there would be pretty cool.”
As well as having countryman and friend Olesen playing alongside him for Denmark, Højgaard will also be able to lean on the captain of his country’s Olympic golf team - Thomas Bjørn.
The 53-year-old will head up both the men’s and women’s teams competing at Le Golf National, which was the scene of his memorable Ryder Cup triumph as Captain in 2018.
Over the course of a career spanning three decades, Bjørn has won 15 DP World Tour titles and played on three Ryder Cup teams, winning on each occasion.
However, with golf having only returned to the Olympic programme in 2016, the Great Dane didn't have the chance to represent his country during his best years as a player.
But due to the global power of the Olympics, he believes success could result in golf growing further back home.
"I played for a long time, the Olympics was never in my grasp," said Bjørn.
"Golf wasn’t on the programme when I was at my best and now looking at it, I find it a shame that golf wasn’t on the programme back then.
"It would have been nice to have been a three, four, five time Olympian and try to be a part of that whole thing. I think it is important for the game.
"I think it is important for golf in our country that it is an Olympic sport and that we try with the talent that we have to see if we can win some medals because in a country like Denmark it can change the view of a sport and it can be part of a national movement which the Olympics always is for a small country.
"To try and win a medal is a big goal of ours and with the talent we have I see no reason why we couldn’t."
The men’s competition gets underway on August 1, with the women teeing off six days later on August 7.
