Birmingham, England — Rasmus Hodgerd secured the remaining auto-qualification spot for the European Ryder Cup team as he finished 13th in the British Masters, which was acquired by Alex None on Sunday.
Højgaard had to finish at least 29 times in the tournament at Belfry. He scored enough points to overtake Shane Laurie.
Despite being nervous and broken, Højgaard shot a 71-under 71 in the final round and passed Rory. Norén shot 67 and drilled a 7-foot bogey putt last for a one-stroke victory with 16 under par.
“I don’t know what to feel. I was very stressed about the course today. I told the caddy. I don’t know how I can do this,” said Whaugard, who will make his Rider Cup debut at Bethpage Black next month.
“I’ve been beyond this month.”
Højgaard received a call from European Captain Luke Donald after the round.
“You got it, you belong and I’m very excited to have you join the team,” Donald could hear him say.
“I know it was a stressful week,” Donald added.
Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert Macintyre and Tyrrell Hatton had already insisted on five other automatic spots on the Luke Donald team defending the Ryder Cup.
Laurie hopes that one of the six captain’s picks will complete a team of 12. They will be announced on September 1st.
Rasmus Højgaard’s twin brother, Nikolai, competed in Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup on the outskirts of Rome.