Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Rasmus Hojgaard and Nicolai Hojgaard at the 2020 Betfred British Masters at Close House Golf Club, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. 

By Special Correspondent
RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE: Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard will team up for an exciting new televised exhibition event, the Hero Challenge, in Ras Al Khaimah today with the Danish twins hoping to make it another Højgaard double following Nicolai’s spectacular DP World Tour victory last week.

The Hero Challenge will feature 26 teams of two professionals per team playing over nine holes in a Texas Scramble best-ball format.

The event will be broadcast across the world and viewers will get a unique inside-the-ropes experience, with closer interaction between players and course commentators, and with certain players mic’d up throughout their round.

Nicolai Højgaard, the Ras Al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital winner, said: “I always look forward to playing with Rasmus, now we get nine holes with a fun tournament so it will be a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I have full confidence in Rasmus, when we play together we trust each other 100%. Maybe it sounds a bit like we’re going to take it seriously, but we’re going to have fun for sure and try to do our best while we’re having fun. We’ll see what happens.”

The Højgaards, who last year became the first brothers to each win a tournament in back-to-back weeks, are one of the many teams featuring players from the same country, with Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello and his Spanish compatriot Alfredo Garcia-Heredia playing in the same group as the Danes.

“I’m very excited, it looks like he’s driving the ball pretty good so that should make my job a little easier!”, said Rasmus Højgaard.

“I think we’ll just go out and try to have fun. It’s going to be a relaxed little competition. We’re here for two weeks so it’s nice to have something a little different to do, to have a little nine hole competition is great and will just be a lot of fun.

“We’ve been talking about what we’re going to wear and maybe wearing the same outfit, it will be a little surprising I think!”

Marcus Armitage and Jordan Smith – a former winner in Ras Al Khaimah on the Challenge Tour, who finished runner-up to Højgaard last week – play in an all-English team while Scots Stephen Gallacher and Robert MacIntyre pair up hoping to claim the lion’s share of the $150,000 prize pot.

An all-Swedish group, meanwhile, will feature Marcus Kinhult pairing up with Alexander Björk and they will play alongside a team featuring Sebastian Soderberg and Joakim Lagergren.

Fans can access the Hero Challenge free of charge. No ticket or registration is needed.