I often hear stories about PGA Tour pros playing huge money games in their pre-tournament practice rounds.
Thousands of dollars are at stake, but so are bragging rights between friendly rivals. But pros don't bet on courses because they have a gambling problem. They do so to try to simulate the pressure of a tournament before the shots start counting. Nothing beats the heat of competition. So if you're playing to do something, the pressure increases even more.
But sometimes players play for more than money, as was the case with Nicolai Højgaard, Rasmus Højgaard and Matt Wallace before the DP World Tour's first playoff event, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
“It's not just money that's at risk, and that's probably why there's been so much competition,” Rasmus Hugaard said on Tuesday.
“So we were playing a birdie game, so it was about who made the most birdies. I made the equivalent of six birdies, Matt made three birdies and Nikolai made the equivalent of two birdies.”
But what was the final result of that birdie game?
“A birdie means a late birdie is one minute in the cold plunge,” Rasmus further explained.
“Obviously, there was a little bit more of an extra match. So it turned out that Nikolai needed to do three minutes and Matt needed to do two minutes. Matt was probably already doing that, so I didn't get to see it. But I'll definitely watch it [my brother] Nikolai. ”
A trip to the ice bath is never fun, but it definitely motivated Rasmus to play well on Tuesday.
But this strong play is nothing new for Rasmus. He has performed well all season on the DP World Tour, arriving in Abu Dhabi in third place in the rankings behind Rory McIlroy and Thriston Lawrence. If you recall, Rasmus kept McIlroy at bay at Royal County Down, birdied the final three holes to move one spot ahead of the local hero.
The Dane now appears destined to earn one of the 10 PGA Tour cards at the end of the DP World Tour Championship, a new avenue created a year ago. Players who finish in the top 10 in Dubai will receive a card to play on the PGA Tour in 2025, barring exceptions, but Rasmus finished 11th in this ranking in 2023.
“It was a little tough sitting there that Sunday last year. I was of course very, very happy to see Nikolai win. [DP World Tour Championship]But for myself, missing out on one spot on the PGA Tour card was tough,” Rasmus said.
“This year I really wanted to come out and play some good golf. I've managed to do that this past year. Well, it's been a great year. I'm happy with where I'm at. We are trying to squeeze every last bit of energy out of these two events.”
A year later, things are looking much better for Rasmus. He's gotten off to a strong start this week in the Middle East, even playfully sending his younger brother into an ice bath, much to his dismay.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
