THE RYDER CUP

September 24, 2025

Rasmus Højgaard

Bethpage Black Course

Team Europe

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Rasmus Højgaard is with us now at the 2025 Ryder Cup.

Welcome to your first Ryder Cup. We'll jump right into questions.

Q. Obviously the only change from Rome, how easy has it been settling into the team, and how helpful was your presence at Rome?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: It's been pretty easy to get into the team. I've been called "Nicolai" pretty much half the time by everyone, but I think the Rome experience made it easier for me to get to know the guys a little bit better. It's been good. Good fun so far.

Q. I wondered if you can tell us what you bring to the team differently than your brother.

RASMUS HØJGAARD: That's a good -- I don't know. I think obviously Nicolai and I are very similar, so there won't be a lot of change in the team room.

I think the experience of Rome, I was there. I think as important as it was for me to get to know the guys, I think it was important for them to learn more about me as well.

I don't think it's going to be a big change for them.

Q. Rasmus, you have Thomas here, and he's been part of you growing up and becoming a great player. What does it mean for you to have Thomas here this week?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: It's very special. I've got a great relationship with Thomas. He's been around us for so many years now.

Yeah, it's a good support to have close to me this week.

Q. You guys had the first opportunity to be out there on the course with fans in attendance. So much has been made about the crowd coming into this. I'm curious what that experience was like with them there yesterday. Did you hear some of the chirping? Did you start to feel the energy that's expected to be here when the event starts later this week?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: I think yesterday was a very good day. I thought the crowds were great. Got good support. So yeah, so far, it's been great.

We know that there's going to be some situations out there, but I think we're all very much prepared for it. But it was definitely a very good start.

Q. Have you been trying to pick the brain of some of the -- obviously a lot of these guys were there last time, but maybe some of the older veterans on the team to try to figure out what your first Ryder Cup is going to represent?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Yeah, I've spoken to Thomas quite a bit. But yeah, there's some very experienced guys in the team. So I think just being around them gives you a sense of calmness.

Again, Nicolai played it the last time, so yeah, there's been some good stuff in there that I can try and use in my advantage.

Q. Did you use the virtual reality goggles, and if so, how did they help you prepare for this week?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Yeah, I tried them on. I thought it was a fun idea. Yeah, it gave us a picture of how the whole first tee looked like, which I thought was quite fun. It was a fun little gimmick from the team.

Q. When did playing in a Ryder Cup become a dream of yours?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Back in 2012. That was the first Ryder Cup I really watched on the TV. That was when my Ryder Cup dream started.

Q. Can you give one quick example of what you learned from being at the Ryder Cup in '23, being part of the team?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Well, I think just to see how everything runs, how the days are built, how the team room functions. As a whole, it was nice to see how all the days just goes by, how they all prepare together, and what's going to happen during the tournament days, as well.

Q. Wondering when you think the most nervous you've ever been on the golf course.

RASMUS HØJGAARD: It was probably at Belfry this year, I think, when I was trying to qualify for the team. That was probably when I was the most nervous.

Q. Are you doing anything or any kind of mental preparations about how you might feel on the first tee as matches are going and kind of how you want to try to handle that?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: I think I'm going to feel some sense of what I did at The Belfry there, trying to qualify there. I'm pretty sure the first tee is going to be my most nervous moment.

But again, I try to look at it in a way that I only get to try the first Ryder Cup tee shot once in my life, so trying to embrace that in a way.

It's also a cliche, but that's going to be my approach, and then see how it goes.

Q. Given that you were involved in Rome two years ago, is there anything this year that has surprised you?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Not really. Obviously it's pretty much the same thing. They only had to change one initial on the name.

No, I think everyone is still very much on the same page. I think I kind of fell into the group in a very smooth way. So far, nothing has really surprised me, I think.

Q. Did you know who Gianfranco Zola is? Are you a big football fan?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: I do know who he is, yes.

Q. Who is your football team, by the way, in England?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: I know Thomas is laughing here, but it's Man United.

Q. A different kind of noise at these Ryder Cup matches, but when is the first time you experienced big noise at a golf tournament, and what was that like?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: I think the first time for me must have been playing the PGA Championship for the first time over here.

Q. Where was that, do you remember?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: It was four years ago. I can't remember where it was. But I think that was the first time I really -- big crowds, a lot of noise, with all that going around.

Q. What did it do for you?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: I thought it was quite exciting in a way. Something I hadn't tried before.

It's something that I have to deal with better and better if I want to achieve what I want to achieve in golf, so I thought it was super exciting to try that. And then, obviously, spend more and more time over here now and get more of a sense of what it's like.

Q. You have, obviously, an experience of Luke in Rome and now you've got a great experience of him. How has he changed? How is Luke Donald's captaincy in 2025 different from the captaincy in 2023?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Here's the thing: I wasn't that much in the team room. I wasn't that much involved with how Luke dealt with the team. I was a little bit more back in the staff.

So for me, it's hard to really answer that. This time, he's been great. He's been out early, speaking to everyone who had a chance to be in the team, and made everyone feel welcome.

How he was as a captain in Rome is hard for me to really answer because I wasn't that close to the team. But this time, he certainly has us well prepared.

Q. We thought you were in the team room.

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Well, kind of, but I wasn't in the team meetings. I wasn't in all that because I wasn't a player. I was driving buggies that week. I wasn't really involved with the team. That was also a decision for me. I'm not a player, so I shouldn't be in with everyone else.

Q. You mentioned that you still are being called "Nicolai" once again. Where does that happen most times, out there with the fans or in general interactions, or do your teammates give you those names?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: It happens all the time. Even, like, for example, Shane sometimes just calls me "Nicolai." And then he's like, "Oh, Rasmus is here."

It's all right. It is what it is. I'm used to it. I've been used to it for 20 years now. So it doesn't really bother me.

Q. Are there any particular good stories where you get confused, the two of you?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: We've never done anything crazy as such, but we had in school, I'm going to say back in the day. We changed classes and the teacher wouldn't notice for an hour and a half. We did that a few times. Anyone in the class would know that we've obviously changed, but yeah, the teacher wouldn't know.

Q. You said 13 years ago you started dreaming about this. How is it to sit at that podium, to have been out there these days and looking forward to Friday?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Yeah, it's very special. It's fun to think that 2012 was my -- that's when the dream started.

I'm here now, so I'm very happy that I can live out my Ryder Cup dream.