Nicolai Højgaard will take a two-shot lead into the weekend on the DP World Tour Championship after a surprising end to his second spherical at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The Dane arrived on the Earth course on day two in a share of the lead however back-to-back bogeys noticed him stumble and he was nonetheless a great distance behind regardless of combating again to show in stage par.
A birdie on the tenth signalled the beginning of higher issues, although, and he added two extra earlier than ending birdie-eagle to come back dwelling in 30 and signal for a 66 that left him at 11 underneath.
Højgaard has eight prime tens within the 2023 season – together with a runner-up end eventually week’s Nedbank Golf Problem – with three prime fives in his final 4 DP World Tour begins.
The 22-year-old additionally has a runner-up end on the PGA TOUR, together with his kind incomes him a Captain’s Decide from Luke Donald for Europe’s Ryder Cup victory over the USA final month.
His Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland have been in a tie for second at 9 underneath par after rounds of 66, alongside Swede Jens Dantorp, Frenchman Antione Rozner and South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence – who fired the spherical of the day with a 64.
Participant Quotes
Nicolai Højgaard: It’s a bit of bit like final week as properly. Had a gradual begin in each spherical, principally. After which I simply know on each spherical there’s going to be a run of birdies sooner or later with the place my sport is at. So it’s about staying affected person.
I want to play the entrance 9 a bit of bit higher on the weekend. However I’m very, very glad with how I’m enjoying these two rounds.
I belief my sport in the meanwhile. It’s been a bit of bit shaky at instances this 12 months, however I really feel like we’re on monitor in the meanwhile. I really feel like I’ve bought confidence in my pictures, the choices of pictures, the sport plan we’ve put in place each spherical.
I really feel like (a win) is the one factor I missed this season. However there’s two rounds to go. There’s a number of actually good gamers on this discipline I do know which can be going to be within the hunt the subsequent few days. I’m going to maintain grinding as a lot as I can and putt myself round, hopefully, and we’ll see on Sunday.
Tommy Fleetwood: Truly felt like I performed higher yesterday. As we speak was the day the place I felt like I scored properly. Gave myself a number of possibilities on the again 9. As at all times, you’d like another gap once you’re enjoying the final however general simply appears good to get right into a little bit of rhythm as we speak and see some putts drop in, and on a day the place I feel scoring was in all probability fairly good, it was good to be a kind of.
It’s at all times nice to be right here. It doesn’t matter what you do in your profession, I really feel like an opportunity to win this event, it’s near my coronary heart now, this one.
So simply trying ahead to the weekend. I at all times really feel prefer it brings out nice winners, like nice champions, so the final word purpose is to be a kind of. Put my identify on the trophy. Midway there, take pleasure in that tonight and prepare to go once more tomorrow however any time you’re in competition and particularly at a event like this, it’s actually, very nice.
Viktor Hovland: It was good. I drove it quite a bit higher off the tee as we speak. Simply put myself within the fairway and I used to be in a position to assault a bit of bit extra.
I nonetheless really feel like my iron sport will not be as sharp appropriately. I’m hitting a number of greens and I’m giving myself a number of seems to be however the ball goes to this point, it’s onerous to essentially dial within the distances. Yeah, simply enjoying actually stable and chipping it good, driving it good and placing it good.
It’s been big, simply speaking about yesterday, that would have simply been an excellent par plus one spherical, simply a number of the spots I left myself in. However I hit it fairly good. Missed it in some spots that I often might have made a bogey or a double and that simply utterly kills momentum. So yeah, I’m simply staying actually affected person and never making a mistake and it doesn’t hassle me as a lot because it used to, so I feel yeah, it’s good to play sort of stress-free golf.
