Nicolai Hojgaard claimed the European tour’s biggest check on Sunday, winning the season-ending World Tour Championship by two strokes over Tommy Fleetwood.
The 22-year-old Dane reeled off five consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-17, en route to a final-round 8-under 64 and a 21-under par total score.
Hojgaard has now won a tournament in three consecutive years on the European tour.
“The only thing missing (this year) was a win,” said Hojgaard, who was a rookie on the winning European Ryder Cup team. “And to get it this week is unbelievable.
“This is the sweetest way to finish the year.”
Fleetwood (68) finished in a tie for second alongside Viktor Hovland (68) and overnight leader Matt Wallace (69).
The day was not so memorable, though, for Hojgaard’s twin brother, Rasmus, who appeared locked in for one the 10 PGA Tour cards up for grabs in Dubai until a water ball on the 18th. This resulted in the winner’s brother getting edged out for full PGA Tour status by less than 27 points.
The 10 European players (not already exempt) to secure PGA Tour cards for 2024 include Adrian Meronk, Ryan Fox, Victor Perez, Thorbjorn Olesen, Alexander Bjork, Sami Valimaki, Robert MacIntyre, Matthieu Pavon, Jorge Campillo and Ryo Hisatsune.
