Nicolai Højgaard held off the chasing pack to claim his maiden European Tour title with a one-shot victory at the Italian Open, which also saw him create history alongside his twin brother Rasmus.
The Danish 20-year-olds became the first brothers to win back-to-back events on the European Tour after Rasmus Højgaard won last week’s Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
Nicolai Højgaard came into the final round with a one shot lead and had found himself two clear on the back nine before back to back bogeys at the 14th and 15th wiped out his advantage and left him level with Tommy Fleetwood and Adrian Meronk going down the last. He arrived at the 18th tee knowing he needed a closing birdie to win, and he did just that – holing from three feet to finish the tournament on 13 under par and clinch his maiden victory at this level, with Rasmus joining him on the green to celebrate.
Meronk and Fleetwood finished in a share of second on 12 under after posting rounds of 66 and 71 respectively, with Fleetwood also converting a must-make birdie putt on the 18th green to tie Meronk’s clubhouse lead before Højgaard had finished his round.
Home favourite Francesco Laporta was alone in fourth on 11 under after closing with a 68 to finish as the leading Italian, one stroke ahead of Edoardo Molinari.
Højgaard said: “This victory means a lot to me. I’ve been grinding for a long time and seeing Rasmus win three times made me want to do it even more. And to finally get it done is very special and it’s been a great week here so I’m just very happy to get it done.
“I’m very happy that Rasmus and his girlfriend and my girlfriend, were there to see me do it. I really appreciate it because I haven’t been able to see his wins. It really means a lot to me and it’s just a very special day. I had a bad foot before coming here and to get it done, it’s quite a good story. I didn’t see the back nine before the first round, so it’s been a crazy week.”