Nicolai Højgaard is ready to test his game on the Masters stage after leaning on Masters champions Jon Rahm, Adam Scott and José María Olazabal for advice.
The Dane, who secured his Masters debut by winning the season-ending DP World Tour Championship to move inside the World's top 50, said he's picked up plenty of advice about Augusta National from the three Green Jacket winners.
After arriving on Sunday, Højgaard played a practice round on Tuesday with Ryder Cup teammate and defending champion Rahm, joined Adam Scott on Wednesday and spent some time on the range with José María Olazábal ahead of his first appearance.
"I arrived late on Sunday night late, then on Monday I practiced a bit and walked a few holes," Højgaard told the DP World Tour at Augusta National.
"It was pretty cool to see the place, and then I played a few holes on the back nine with Rahmbo on Tuesday. That was pretty cool. We set that up a week ago, we were chit-chatting a little bit and I thought it would be great to spend some time with him around this place because he's a champion and he knows exactly how to hit good shots and see his thoughts about the place.
"Then I heard from another specialist around this place today, Adam Scott, I played with him and Thorbjørn (Olesen) and Camilo (Villegas), so it's been a good couple of days."
Hojgaard and Rahm have become close after playing together in the Friday afternoon fourball session at Marco Simone last September, tying their match against Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.
The relationship with his Ryder Cup teammates is one the 23-year-old values immensely, and he says that both he and Ludvig Åberg - who is making his first Major Championship appearance this week - are incredibly grateful for the continued support they have had from their Team Europe peers.
"It doesn't get much better, but at the same time, playing together in Rome and having a good relationship now, it was (also) good fun," he explained.
"I made a lot of notes, a lot of small things about the holes. But in the end it's about executing. You can write as much down but you've still got to hit the shots and be committed. There's a lot of targets out there you've got to trust with slopes and stuff but I really enjoyed it. You can learn a lot from him.
"For me and I think for Ludvig as well, being the new guys, it's great to have those experienced guys around and you know, you can learn a lot from them. I really enjoy spending time with Jon. And, you know, Rory and Tommy and Shane and the whole of team Europe have been great to me. I mean, it's something you want to be a part of for the rest of your life and you get to kind of have a little bit of a family now. In the end it's your business, you have got to do your own thing, but it's good to have someone to practice around, especially around this place."
One particular piece of advice that Højgaard was happy to share came from two-time champion and former Ryder Cup Captain Olazábal, who celebrates the 30th anniversary of his first win and 25th anniversary of his second this year.
Speaking to him on the range, Højgaard said that in addition to all the advice he's been given about certain holes and the importance of positioning on the course, Olazabal simply reminded him to stay patient and hang in there.
"I was talking to on the range he said 'Nico, stay patient', to me. You know that every week but it's Major week, and it'll never be 20 under par, so it's just about keep hanging in there, keep plodding around. You know you're going to have a run at some point where you're going to make a few birdies, and then it's about hanging on.
"I feel like just knowing where to favour on this course, which sides, when you are out of position which sides to favour, that's so important. But they've all been great. They've been great giving me a little bit of insight into how they see it and then certain holes whether you want to be aggressive or not.
"But you also have to go out and figure it out yourself. You can get all the small things from the champions, but you've got to go and execute it, so we're going to go and put in a plan on how we see the course and then we're going to try and execute it."
The 88th Masters will mark Højgaard's sixth Major appearance, having competed in The Open three times and the US PGA Championship twice. Of those, his best finish has been a tie for 23rd in last year's Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
And after an initial impressive start to the season has been a little more inconsistent of late, Højgaard isn't too worried about what those results - MC, MC, T75 in his last three starts - say about his form heading into the year's first Major.
With previous experience of Majors and the pressure of a Ryder Cup under his belt, Højgaard said he feels like his game is actually trending and he is confident that prior experience helps his belief that he can compete on this stage.
"I've been very excited. When it was confirmed in December it was pretty cool.
"Now the season really starts. We've had a stretch now where we had a decent start to the year, and we've gone cold slightly with the game, but I feel like the game is actually trending and it's been trending even though I haven't had the results I really want to. I am seeing some things that are good to see going into Major season, and the game is getting there. There are still few things I need to work on, but it's always good to have stuff to work on.
"It's knowing you're good enough. I mean, knowing that you can compete out there, there has to be one winner at the end of the day and why not? If you go out and things go your way and you play well, but I can't let my mind go that far.
"Around this place you've got to be aggressive all the time, and it's about one shot at a time, stay in the present. If you make a couple mistakes keep grinding out here because you never know what's going to happen, especially with a place being in these conditions now. It looks like it's going to change [on Thursday] a bit and then we're going to have to adapt, but it's a cool place, and now we need to get to work.
"I'm just looking forward to getting out there and grinding in a Major. It feels like a long time since there's been a Major, and Major events are what you want to play. They are the coolest events of the whole year, the coolest venues, you want to get your name on the trophy so being in a Major is what it's all about and that's what I'm excited about and I'll go out and do my best.
"I think everyone in this field that wants to have a jacket on but you can't let your mind go that far. There's so much golf to play and it's a tough course to grind on, but it's possible. Everybody's got a dream of doing it, and if you actually go out and focus on the job and focus on hitting those shots in the exact spots you're trying to hit, just stay focused and patient, you never know what's going happen. And that's the cool thing about this is this game. So I'm looking forward to giving it 100% and then see where the game is in a Major at the moment."
