Rasmus Højgaard climbed to the top of the 2025 European Ryder Cup qualifying standings following his dramatic one-shot victory over Rory McIlroy at the Amgen Irish Open.
The Dane sits in pole position with 362.72 points after his win at Royal County Down, which followed a third-place finish at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and tied 17th finish at the Omega European Masters.
The 23-year-old is hoping to follow in the footsteps of twin brother Nicolai, who was part of the victorious European team in Rome last year, by earning his place in Luke Donald’s European team at Bethpage Black.
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“I had a number today that I was trying to reach, and that was eight (under),” Højgaard said after securing his fifth DP World Tour title.
“Obviously coming in and finishing on nine was gold and I’m so happy. The game’s been trending for a while now and to get this one is massive.
“On ten I got away with a good lie. I thought I hit a great chip there and maybe would have been five, six feet past, but then there was a flag in the way.
“And on 17 I was a bit worried I could be plugged in the bunker but coming up to an uphill lie in the bunker gave me a little bit more confidence that I could get it up and down. To hole it was key.”
World Number Three McIlroy climbs to fourth place on the European Team Rankings with 166.80 points after his solo second place finish in Northern Ireland.
The five-time Ryder Cup winner looked set to claim his second Irish Open title when he led by two shots stood on the 15th tee.
However, a bogey on 17 left McIlroy needing to eagle the 18th hole and when the putt agonisingly slid by, Højgaard was crowned champion in Northern Ireland.
After three weeks of qualifying, Højgaard leads the way with 362.72 points, with Omega European Masters winner Matt Wallace sitting in second place with 287.50 points.
Betfred British Masters winner Niklas Nørgaard remains in third place on 260.65 points, with McIlroy (166.80 points), Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (166.80 points) and Matteo Manassero (142.75 points) rounding out the six automatic qualifiers.
The qualification process will end at the DP World Tour tournament which concludes on Sunday August 24, 2025.
Click here to find out more about the new European Ryder Cup qualification process.
