Rasmus Hojgaard says he has had a “rough” few days after Europe’s Ryder Cup victory as he prepares for the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.
Hojgaard tees it up at the Country Club of Jackson on Thursday as the Dane immediately reacquaints himself with American galleries after the Bethpage Black crowds gave Luke Donald’s team – and Rory McIlroy in particular – a tough time in New York.
The 24-year-old lost his two matches there – a 6&5 foursomes thrashing alongside Ludwig Åberg on the opening day and a narrow one-hole singles defeat to Ben Griffin – and said he had never experienced such a “stressful and pressure situation”.
“The energy level is not very high,” said Hojgaard, ranked 58th in the world and 87th in the FedExCup standings on the PGA Tour.
“The last few days it’s been quite rough, but it was all worth it. Whatever the outcome would have been last week, I was still going to tee it up this week.
“Just had to prepare myself that the energy level might be a little lower than it would be normally. But certainly I’m still going to prepare myself as well as I can.”
Highlights of the key moments from the final day of the Ryder Cup from Bethpage as Europe hold on to clinch the trophy
Hojgaard is a five-time winner on the DP World Tour with his biggest victory coming at the 2024 Irish Open, where he beat home favourite McIlroy by one shot.
He makes no secret that securing his PGA Tour card for 2026 and returning to the world’s top 50 remain top priorities “so next year’s schedule looks a bit better”.
Hojgaard added: “The Ryder Cup is only once every two years, so you put everything into being a part of that.
A look at some of the best shots from the final day of the Ryder Cup
“Once you leave the whole team there, it’s not going to feel so different because you go into what is normal for you again.
“I think for most of the guys that were there last week, it was a completely different environment, and especially for me.
“I’ve never experienced such a stressful and pressure situation as that.
“Putting last week was obviously the most important thing with how the course was set up.
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“You could see that the European team stats-wise, especially the first two days, outperformed the US team in putting because tee to green it was very similar.
“That’s where I probably underperformed a little bit, and there’s some other things that I can look at and try and improve more.”
Watch the Sanderson Farms Championship live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm on Thursday. Stream the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and more contract-free with NOW.
