Nicolai Højgaard won his first Rolex Series title as a back-nine birdie barrage saw him sign for a closing 64 and a two-shot victory at the DP World Tour Championship.
The Dane had led after days one and two at Jumeirah Golf Estates but entered the final round three shots off the pace before pulling himself right into contention with a front nine of 33.
He was back on top with a gain on the 10th and then reeled off five birdies in a row from the 13th to get to 21 under and hold off the challenge of his Ryder Cup teammates Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland and overnight leader Matt Wallace.
Fleetwood and Hovland signed for a pair of 68s, one shot less than Wallace, to sit two ahead of defending champion Jon Rahm, South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon.
Højgaard finished fourth over the Earth Course in his only previous appearance at this event in 2021, catapulting himself into the top 10 on that season’s final rankings and he will finish 2023 second behind Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy.
While becoming an international player and starting his career on the PGA Tour this year, he recorded seven DP World Tour top 10s to earn his place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team, winning half a point as Luke Donald’s men defeated the United States.
He added to that tally by finishing second at last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge and brought that form to Dubai, where he is now a three-time DP World Tour champion and enters the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time.
– Report from DP World Tour website
