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DP World Tour rookie leads Puerto Rico Open in his first-ever PGA Tour start

DP World Tour rookie leads Puerto Rico Open in his first-ever PGA Tour start

USA Today08-03-2025
DP World Tour rookie leads Puerto Rico Open in his first-ever PGA Tour start
There's another Rasmus making noise on the PGA Tour.
Rasmus Hojgaard, along with twin brother Nicolai, are becoming better known players on the pro circuit but this week, in the opposite-field 2025 Puerto Rico Open, fellow Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen holds the 36-hole lead.
Neergaard-Petersen has three international wins but just one Korn Ferry Tour start, back in 2020, the 25-year-old's lone appearance in a PGA Tour-sanctioned tour event before this week.
The former Oklahoma State Cowboy has two top-10s on the DP World Tour in 2025, including a solo second at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters a month ago.
"Once I get into the round and kind of get a couple holes in, it just kind of feels like any other day on the golf course really," Neergaard-Petersen said. "I'm just trying to stay in the present and take one shot at a time. That's what I said, I know with my game if I can just get the ball in play off the tee in a good spot, I'm certainly hitting my irons well enough now to never really get myself in trouble."
This week at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Neergaard-Petersen has posted scores of 64 and 65. He's recorded 13 birdies and an eagle and has yet to card a bogey. Should he hang on to win, he'll earn an exemption on the PGA Tour through 2027. He'll also get into the Players Championship next week and the PGA Championship in May. A spot in the Masters, however, does not come with a victory in opposite-field events.
"I'd like to kind of just keep staying patient," he said. "Undoubtedly at some point you're going to run into a stretch where you're not really converting some of those chances, might not make any birdies, but just kind of hang in there, keep giving myself chances and trust that I'm going to make enough putts come Sunday.
Davis Riley is solo second at 14 under. He's seeking his third PGA Tour win after shooting 64-66 so far. Austin Cook (66-65) is solo third at 13 under.
William Muow, Noah Goodwin and Karl Vilips are tied for fourth at 12 under and Harry Higgs is in a group of seven golfers tied for seventh at 11 under.
There were 78 golfers who made the cut, which came in at 5 under.
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