You often hear stories about PGA Tour pros playing the huge bonus game during practice rounds before tournaments.
Thousands of dollars are at stake, as are bragging rights between friendly rivals. However, pros do not place bets on the course because they have a gambling problem. They do this to try and simulate game pressure before the game starts counting. Nothing beats the intensity of competition, so having something to play with helps increase the pressure.
But sometimes, players play for more than just money, as Nikolai Hoygaard, Rasmus Hoygaard and Same thing with Matt Wallace.
“It's not just money at stake, which is probably why it has become so competitive,” Rasmus Højgaard said on Tuesday.
“So we were playing a birdie game, who had the most birdies. I had six birdies, Matt had three birdies and Nikolai had two birdies.”
But what did the end result of that birdie game mean?
“Making birdies means every birdie you get behind means a minute in the cold,” Rasmus further explained.
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“Obviously, we had some extra games. It ended up that Nikola had to do three minutes and Matt had to do two minutes. Matt might have done it. So I didn't get to see it, but I was definitely watching [my brother] Nicholas. “
A trip to the ice bath is never fun, but it certainly motivated Rasmus to perform well in Tuesday's game.
But this kind of strong performance is nothing new for Rasmus. He has performed well all season on the DP World Tour, arriving in Abu Dhabi ranked third behind Rory McIlroy and Triston Lawrence. If you remember, Rasmus beat McIlroy at Royal County Down and birdied the last three holes to eclipse his hometown hero by one shot.
The Dane now looks destined to secure one of 10 PGA Tour cards at the end of the DP World Tour Championship, a new pathway created a year ago. The top 10 players in Dubai (who are not exempt) will receive cards to play in the 2025 PGA Tour, with Rasmus ranked No. 11 in the 2023 rankings.
“It was a little tough sitting there that Sunday last year. I was obviously very, very happy to see Nikola win the championship [DP World Tour Championship]but for me, missing out on the PGA Tour by one spot was tough,” Rasmus said.
“I'm very motivated to come out and play some good golf this year. I've managed to do that throughout the year. Yeah, it's been a good year. I'm happy where I am right now and trying to move on from this Squeeze out the last bit of time in the two games.”
A year later, things are looking better for Rasmus. He got off to such a good start in the Middle East this week that he jokingly sent his brother into an ice bath, much to his dismay.
Jack Milko is the golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Get more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jackmilko as well as.
