He’s only 19 years old and now has two European Tour wins in only 15 starts — Rasmus Hojgaard is a phenom and he’s just getting started.
The Danish teenager outlasted Justin Walters Sunday and won the UK Championship on the second playoff hole at the Belfry.
The final round saw Hojgaard eagle the 17th hole in regulation to shoot 65 and post 14-under par. He then waited to see what would happen with Martin Kaymer and Walters, who were in the last group.
Kaymer birdied the par five 15th to get to 14-under but inexplicably took three shots to get down from just 15 feet on the fringe at the par five 17th. That bogey dropped Kaymer back to 13-under and opened the door for Walters. Walters had a tough go of it after a triple-bogey seven at the eight hole seemed to end his hopes for a first European Tour victory. But the South African fought back with birdies at 14, 16 and 17 and went on to finish with two-under par 70 that sent him into a playoff with Hojgaard.
Both players parred the first playoff hole, the 18th, with Walters extending the playoff with a 15-foot par putt. His luck ran out the second trip down 18 when his approach to the green sailed wide right and left him with the difficult task of getting close enough to make par. His chip left him another 15-footer and after Hojgaard snuggled his birdie attempt within a couple of feet, Walters missed and the young Dane had his second win.
“I was a bit surprised that I ended up in a play-off, but it was fun out there,” said Højgaard, whose victory saw him beat out Sam Horsfield for the UK Swing’s Order of Merit. “It’s hard to describe. It’s obviously an amazing feeling to get the wins. It happened really quick. I’m kind of lost for words right now, but it’s an amazing feeling.”
Hojgaard became the first player since Mateo Manassero to win twice before the age of 20.
UK Championship Final Scoreboard:
Austin Ernst’s Dazzling 63 Overtakes Nordqvist In Arkansas:
Anna Nordqvist entered the final round of the NW Arkansas Championship with a three-shot lead and the way scoring looked on Saturday, she’d still need a low round to break her three-year victory drought.
She didn’t get it and Austin Ernst came roaring from four shots back to overtake Nordqvist and with a closing 63, picked up her second LPGA Tour win.
Ernst had the day’s low round thanks to 10 birdies on her card at the Pinnacle Country Club. She joined 2014 champ Stacy Lewis as the second American winner of this event.
She got off to a blazing start with three straight birdies and made the turn at five-under, overtaking Nordqvist. Ernst rebounded from a bogey on the par four 13th with a birdie at the par five 14th. She saw her lead grow to two shots when Nordqvist, playing in the group behind, bogeyed the 14th. Nordqvist birdied the par-4 16th to pull within one but Ernst finished with birdie at the par five 18th to push the margin back to two and post at 20 under.
The difference for the two was the par fives. Ernst birdied every one while Nordqvist played them in one-over par.
Nordqvist, the 33-year-old Swede with two major titles and six other LPGA Tour wins, also bogeyed the par-4 12th – her first dropped stroke of the week. She played the four par-5 holes in 1 over, while Ernst birdied them all.
Ernst opened with consecutive 65s to put herself in position to win for the first time since the 2014 Portland Classic.
