Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard making Masters history as first twins to play in tournament

They grew up competing against each other, challenging each other, pulling pranks with each other. Now, Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard will be playing in the Masters with each other.

They’re identical twins from Denmark and could create an identity crisis for fans and media if they choose the same clothes on the same day.

They also can create nightmares for opponents on the golf course, and they’ve been dreaming of the possibilities of this week at Augusta National Golf Club for at least a decade.

“We had many moments on the putting green at our local golf club where we would tell each other this is the putt to win the Masters and then trying to compete with each other,” Rasmus Højgaard said Tuesday. “We really started watching the Masters when we were about 10, 11 years old.”

Watching Bubba Watson’s triumph in 2012 was their first real Masters moment, and Nicolai Højgaard, who is older by a few minutes, got a taste of the real thing by earning a spot in the 2024 tournament and sharing 16th place.

Fresh off their 24th birthdays in March, they’re together in the year’s first major, Rasmus by virtue of being inside the top 50 in the world at the end of 2024 and Nicolai via special invitation. They’re the first twins to compete in the same Masters, and, Nicolai said, experience is a great teacher.

“I was leading after 10 holes in the third round and ended up finishing 16th,” he remembered. “After the tournament I looked at that thinking, ‘What did go wrong after you had been in a perfect position and then finish 16th?’ and going forward, ‘What can you learn from that?’

“I went back to the drawing board with my team. We talked about think of pars as a good score sometimes; when you’re out of position, get it back in play; bogeys are not necessarily a bad thing in certain situations.”

His scenario is a reason that first-time Masters participants often struggle at Augusta National.

“You get too far ahead in a situation,” said Nicolai, who played on Europe’s 2023 Ryder Cup team. “I could easily remember walking over to the 11th tee thinking, ‘OK, we’re in this situation now, this is what we’ve been dreaming of.’

“... You’ve got to have a few tries potentially before you get it right. I’m quite happy it happened for me. So to go forward, I think I’m in a very good position and know how to deal with it better than last year.”

Nicolai shared information with his brother and said both would pick up more with practice rounds with players who have more Masters experience.

Rasmus’ introduction to the course came on the 10th tee.

“That tee shot, yeah, it looks crazy,” he said. “It’s such a cool hole, but standing there, and it’s your first shot you’re going to hit at this place, I was quite nervous there Sunday.

“But somehow managed to find the fairway, so I was happy with that.”

Happy now, but the that was not always true.

“Growing up it was very difficult because we were very competitive,” Rasmus said. “I don’t think we supported each other very much back then. We would fight a lot more than saying congratulations. I think over the years we’ve matured quite a bit.

“It’s always having someone to practice with, competing against I think is very helpful, and I think we can both say that we probably wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have each other.”

Nicolai agreed, pointing out their brotherly battles created the competitive edge required for success.

Knowing their competitiveness, what would it be like to watch the other twin put on the green jacket Sunday afternoon?

“Probably be very frustrating,” Rasmus said and laughed. “No, I think it would be very cool.”

And, by the way, Masters officials avoided an identity challenge by placing the twins in different groups. Nicolai tees off at 7:51 a.m. Thursday (then 10:59 a.m. Friday), and Rasmus at 12:33 p.m. Thursday (then 9:25 a.m. Friday).

If they are spotted together, here’s a tip: Nicolai’s hair is shorter. Then again, that won’t help if they’re wearing caps.

Friday, Round 2 tee times

• 7:40 AM Cameron Davis, Rafael Campos, Austin Eckroat
• 7:51 AM Angel Cabrera, Laurie Canter, Adam Schenk
• 8:02 AM Jose Maria Olazabal, Thriston Lawrence, Brian Campbell
• 8:13 AM Bubba Watson, Matthieu Pavon, Evan Beck (a)
• 8:24 AM Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• 8:35 AM Charl Schwartzel, Denny McCarthy, Hiroshi Tai (a)
• 8:52 AM Max Homa, Justin Rose, J.J. Spaun
• 9:03 AM Dustin Johnson, Nick Taylor, Justin Hastings (a)
• 9:14 AM Sergio Garcia, Lucas Glover, Daniel Berger
• 9:25 AM Patrick Cantlay, Rasmus Hojgaard, Matt Fitzpatrick
• 9:36 AM Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley, Sungjae Im
• 9:47 AM Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland
• 9:58 AM Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Akshay Bhatia
• 10:15 AM Hideki Matsuyama, Bryson DeChambeau, Shane Lowry
• 10:26 AM Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood
• 10:37 AM Sahith Theegala, Sepp Straka, Sam Burns
• 10:48 AM Davis Riley, Patton Kizzire
• 10:59 AM Kevin Yu, Jhonattan Vegas, Nicolai Hojgaard
• 11:10 AM Mike Weir, Michael Kim, Cameron Young
• 11:21 AM Zach Johnson, Joe Highsmith, Chris Kirk
• 11:38 AM Danny Willett, Nicolas Echavarria, Davis Thompson
• 11:49 AM Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, Noah Kent (a)
• 12:00 PM Cameron Smith, J.T. Poston, Aaron Rai
• 12:11 PM Fred Couples, Harris English, Taylor Pendrith
• 12:22 PM Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Stephan Jaeger
• 12:33 PM Patrick Reed, Max Greyserman, Byeong Hun An
• 12:50 PM Robert MacIntyre, Billy Horschel, Nick Dunlap
• 1:01 PM Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee
• 1:12 PM Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
• 1:23 PM Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jose Luis Ballester (a)
• 1:34 PM Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Tyrrell Hatton
• 1:45 PM Tony Finau, Maverick McNealy, Thomas Detry

Masters coverage this week

• Friday: Round two, 3-7 p.m., ESPN
• Saturday: Round three, noon to 2 p.m., Paramount Plus; 2-7 p.m., CBS
• Sunday: Round four, noon to 2 p.m., Paramount Plus; 2-7 p.m., CBS

This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 6:00 AM.