Luke Donald Must be Encouraged With the Brothers Hojgaard
European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald was in the Crescent City to play in the Zurich Classic.
He would miss the cut playing with teammate Camillo Villegas, but that was the bad news.
The good news Donald may have found another pairing for Europe.
Advertisement
What may have seemed obvious pairing the brothers Hojgaard together, that was validated on Sunday when the Danish twins finished runner-up to Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak.
Rasmus Hojgaard hugs his twin Nicolai Hojgaard on the 18th hole during the second round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
What was impressive was not on the 13-under 59 in the opening round best-ball, but the Sunday final round 4-under 68.
'It's an important week for us, we can build a lot and there's a lot of positives from this week,' Nicoli said. 'I feel like we played some good golf for the most part and still can see where our games need a bit of fine tuning. But it was a week where we could free up a little bit and try and really help each other, and we had so much fun.'
Advertisement
In a week when most of the presumptive U.S. Ryder Cup team was off, the Hojgaard's, who have been playing with and against each other since they were kids had an opportunity to experience a team event in a high leverage situation and more importantly know they need to work on somethings, which has to be for a bigger event in September.
'I think all week we've had a good vibe in our little group, us two and our two caddies,' Rasmus said. 'Yeah, there's been good energy right from the start, and obviously we got off to building from there, and I think we did that well putting ourselves in contention. We did our best today and we can keep our head high.'
Not to slight the recent Masters winner, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry was in the field as well.
The defending champions didn't successfully defend, but considering most people didn't believe McIlroy was even going to show up, they acquitted themselves well.
Rory McIlroy, left, laughs with Shane Lowry before the start of their final round on the 1st hole of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament.Matthew Hinton-Ima
The eventually T12 had some positives, with a 61 in the third round and the duo having a legitimate chance to defend, if they had a impactful Sunday final round, which they didn't.
Advertisement
'It was nice to come and try and defend, I think we did a good job for the most part.,' Lowry said. 'I think we played all right, just today nothing really happened for us, and then after the delay we just went -- everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I had a great week. I'm happy my man came here this week, and we had a great time, and it was fun.'
And if you're Donald, you must be encouraged with seeing the brothers Hojgaard playing so well as a team and seeing McIlroy and Lowry make an appearance and get some additional experience together.
Related: Marco Penge Goes From Doghouse to Penthouse With a Win in China
Related: The Brothers Højgaard Shoot 59 at the Zurich Classic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
NBA's talks about new league in Europe are continuing, though the process remains in early stages
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The NBA's talks with FIBA and other entities about the process of adding a new league in Europe are continuing, Commissioner Adam Silver said, though he noted that it may take at least a couple more years to turn the ideas into reality. Silver spoke at a league event to unveil a refurbished Boys & Girls Club in Oklahoma City on Friday — an off day for the NBA Finals — and said it's difficult to put a specific timeline on the Europe plans. 'I will say it's measured in years, not months,' Silver said. 'So, we're at least a couple years away from launching. It would be an enormous undertaking. And while we want to move forward at a deliberate pace, we also want to make sure that we're consulting with all the appropriate stakeholders, meaning the existing league, its teams, European players, media companies, marketing partners. There's a lot of work to be done.' Silver and FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis announced in March that the league and the game's governing body are finally taking long-awaited steps to form a new league, with an initial target of 16 teams. It had been talked about for years, and decades even on some levels. And since the NBA and FIBA went public with their idea to move forward, talks have gotten more constructive, Silver said. Silver said the NBA has been talking directly with the EuroLeague and with some member clubs about a partnership. It's his preference that the NBA work with the existing league on some level, though it's still too early to say exactly what that means. 'Either way, we continue to feel there are an enormous number of underserved basketball fans in Europe and that there's a strong opportunity to have another league styled after the NBA,' Silver said. About one in every six current NBA players hails from Europe, including Denver's Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) — who have combined for five of the last seven MVP awards — along with the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama (France). The NBA's board of governors will talk more about next steps with the European plans in July at their scheduled meeting in Las Vegas, Silver said. It's possible that the European venture could be unveiled in some way — or possibly start — around the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, just given how much attention will be on international basketball at that time. 'That might be a good launching pad for an announcement around a new competition,' Silver said. Some of the cities that are expected to have interest in being part of the new venture include London, Manchester, Rome and Munich. There will be others, of course. 'We haven't had direct conversations yet,' Silver said. 'But there have been several organizations that have come forward and said they would be interested and potential owners in operating in those major markets in Europe.' ___ AP NBA:
Fox Sports
3 hours ago
- Fox Sports
NBA's talks about new league in Europe are continuing, though the process remains in early stages
Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The NBA's talks with FIBA and other entities about the process of adding a new league in Europe are continuing, Commissioner Adam Silver said, though he noted that it may take at least a couple more years to turn the ideas into reality. Silver spoke at a league event to unveil a refurbished Boys & Girls Club in Oklahoma City on Friday — an off day for the NBA Finals — and said it's difficult to put a specific timeline on the Europe plans. 'I will say it's measured in years, not months,' Silver said. 'So, we're at least a couple years away from launching. It would be an enormous undertaking. And while we want to move forward at a deliberate pace, we also want to make sure that we're consulting with all the appropriate stakeholders, meaning the existing league, its teams, European players, media companies, marketing partners. There's a lot of work to be done.' Silver and FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis announced in March that the league and the game's governing body are finally taking long-awaited steps to form a new league, with an initial target of 16 teams. It had been talked about for years, and decades even on some levels. And since the NBA and FIBA went public with their idea to move forward, talks have gotten more constructive, Silver said. Silver said the NBA has been talking directly with the EuroLeague and with some member clubs about a partnership. It's his preference that the NBA work with the existing league on some level, though it's still too early to say exactly what that means. 'Either way, we continue to feel there are an enormous number of underserved basketball fans in Europe and that there's a strong opportunity to have another league styled after the NBA,' Silver said. About one in every six current NBA players hails from Europe, including Denver's Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) — who have combined for five of the last seven MVP awards — along with the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama (France). The NBA's board of governors will talk more about next steps with the European plans in July at their scheduled meeting in Las Vegas, Silver said. It's possible that the European venture could be unveiled in some way — or possibly start — around the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, just given how much attention will be on international basketball at that time. 'That might be a good launching pad for an announcement around a new competition,' Silver said. Some of the cities that are expected to have interest in being part of the new venture include London, Manchester, Rome and Munich. There will be others, of course. 'We haven't had direct conversations yet,' Silver said. "But there have been several organizations that have come forward and said they would be interested and potential owners in operating in those major markets in Europe.' ___ AP NBA: recommended
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
NBA's talks about new league in Europe are continuing, though the process remains in early stages
NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The NBA's talks with FIBA and other entities about the process of adding a new league in Europe are continuing, Commissioner Adam Silver said, though he noted that it may take at least a couple more years to turn the ideas into reality. Silver spoke at a league event to unveil a refurbished Boys & Girls Club in Oklahoma City on Friday — an off day for the NBA Finals — and said it's difficult to put a specific timeline on the Europe plans. Advertisement 'I will say it's measured in years, not months,' Silver said. 'So, we're at least a couple years away from launching. It would be an enormous undertaking. And while we want to move forward at a deliberate pace, we also want to make sure that we're consulting with all the appropriate stakeholders, meaning the existing league, its teams, European players, media companies, marketing partners. There's a lot of work to be done.' Silver and FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis announced in March that the league and the game's governing body are finally taking long-awaited steps to form a new league, with an initial target of 16 teams. It had been talked about for years, and decades even on some levels. And since the NBA and FIBA went public with their idea to move forward, talks have gotten more constructive, Silver said. Silver said the NBA has been talking directly with the EuroLeague and with some member clubs about a partnership. It's his preference that the NBA work with the existing league on some level, though it's still too early to say exactly what that means. 'Either way, we continue to feel there are an enormous number of underserved basketball fans in Europe and that there's a strong opportunity to have another league styled after the NBA,' Silver said. Advertisement About one in every six current NBA players hails from Europe, including Denver's Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) — who have combined for five of the last seven MVP awards — along with the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama (France). The NBA's board of governors will talk more about next steps with the European plans in July at their scheduled meeting in Las Vegas, Silver said. It's possible that the European venture could be unveiled in some way — or possibly start — around the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, just given how much attention will be on international basketball at that time. 'That might be a good launching pad for an announcement around a new competition,' Silver said. Some of the cities that are expected to have interest in being part of the new venture include London, Manchester, Rome and Munich. There will be others, of course. Advertisement 'We haven't had direct conversations yet,' Silver said. "But there have been several organizations that have come forward and said they would be interested and potential owners in operating in those major markets in Europe.' ___ AP NBA:
