Nicolai Højgaard revealed he gets "goosebumps" thinking about following in brother Rasmus' footsteps and winning on home soil as the twins top the bill at this week's Danish Golf Championship.
Rasmus became the first home winner of this event last season when he prevailed after a six-hole play-off against Nacho Elvira and there were emotional scenes as the siblings embraced after the winning putt was holed.
Since then, Nicolai has become a Rolex Series winner, played on a victorious European Ryder Cup side and attained Dual Membership with the PGA TOUR, a status Rasmus missed out on by a whisker in 2023.
And now Nicolai is relishing the challenge of playing on home soil and trying to emulate his brother at Lübker Golf Resort.
"You get goosebumps thinking about winning it and about what happened last year," he said. "It would be pretty cool to have our names next to each other on the trophy.
"It’s one of the weeks I put an X in the calendar. I’m really looking forward to this week. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.
"Since we knew it was being played here at Lübker, which is close to home, we’ve been excited. Good to be here. Course is in good shape. Weather looks a bit dodgy, but we’re looking forward to it.
"It’s home. There’s good vibes if you play well. It’s magical and they can also lift you up if you’re not playing well. That’s what we are hoping for this week, if we’re a bit down we can get the crowd going and get some momentum, get some birdies and get some cheers out there.
"In some way there’s always pressure when you’re playing at home. All the Danes in the field would like to play well.
"I’ve never played well in the event, which is interesting. I’ve played it six times, I think it’s my seventh time playing here and I want to change that trend a little bit."
After all his success at the end of 2023, Nicolai admits 2024 has been a bit of a learning curve but he is still loving performing at the highest levels as an international player.
"I love playing golf, it’s a dream to be out here, to play in the US and the Majors and Ryder Cups," he said. "It’s a dream come true. I’ll try and work hard so I can be on many more teams going forward.
"You can always use past experience for whatever: off the course or on course. Now I know what I’ve done in the past, I feel like I’m a better golfer than I was last year.
"The knowledge I have compared to last year and going forward into next year when there’s the Ryder Cup in New York. I know what it takes. I’ve done it now; not everything, but I’ve ticked a few boxes and I’d like to tick a few more."
Meanwhile, Rasmus arrives for his title defence after four weeks off following The Open Championship, and he still has plenty of goals of his own to accomplish this week and over the rest of the season.
While Nicolai has been inspired by Rasmus' win at this event, Rasmus has also been spurred on by Nicolai's recent appearance at the Olympics and he would love to join his brother in attaining Dual Membership.
"I’m really excited to get back out and play again," he said. "Four weeks at home is a long time. I rarely have that, so I’m really looking forward to getting going.
"All of us out here dream about playing with full crowds cheering us on. It’s always special to come back and play in Denmark.
"It’s always cool to see Nicolai perform well. I was there on Sunday in Paris to see him play and that gave me some extra motivation to play some good golf again.
"It’s the main goal for the year (Dual Membership) and I feel like I’m in a decent position at the moment. We’ve got a lot of events left, so hopefully I can play well from now on."
