Nicolai Hojgaard to join twin brother Rasmus at The Open

The brothers Hojgaard are headed to Royal Liverpool.

With a T6 finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, Nicolai Hojgaard secured one of three available spots at next week’s Open Championship via the Open Qualifying Series, the final avenue for a place in the field at the season’s final major championship. It will mark his third start at The Open, and his first time playing The Open alongside his twin brother Rasmus – who had previously secured an Open spot as a top-30 finisher in last year’s Race to Dubai.

Nicolai – who currently holds Special Temporary Membership on TOUR – will join his brother at Hoylake after a 9-under showing at The Renaissance Club, six back of winner Rory McIlroy, who closed with back-to-back birdies to defeat Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre by a stroke.

With T3 finishes at the Genesis Scottish Open, David Lingmerth and Byeong Hun An punched their tickets to Royal Liverpool as well.

Three spots at The Open Championship were allotted to top finishers at the Genesis Scottish Open, not otherwise exempt, via the Open Qualifying Series. In the event of a tie, the spot would go to the highest-ranked player on the Official World Golf Ranking; no tiebreaker was needed in this case.

This will mark An’s ninth Open appearance, a triumphant return after the TOUR mainstay earned back his card via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour. An has made five prior cuts at The Open, highlighted by a pair of T26 showings.

The first of those T26s came at the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool, and the South Korea native is looking forward to a return.

“The Open wasn’t in my mind, but after all of this, it was good preparation playing the links course the week before,” said An, projected to move inside the top 50 in the FedExCup. “I remember the place; it’s a great golf course … This is a bonus, extra week, so hopefully I can make the best of it.”

This will mark Lingmerth’s third Open start and first since 2016. The Sweden native, winner of the 2015 Memorial Tournament by Workday, is projected to move inside the top 70 in the FedExCup after a sterling week at The Renaissance Club, which snapped a streak of seven consecutive starts without a made cut.