By John Huggan
The rise and rise of Rasmus Hojgaard continues. Already a winner this season at the Mauritius Open—in his fifth career European Tour start—the 19-year-old Dane has doubled his victory tally after only 10 more appearances. Hojgaard’s par 4 at the second extra hole was enough to beat South Africa’s Justin Walters and clinch the U.K. Championship title at The Belfry.

The playoff pair had tied at 14-under-par 274 on the four-time Ryder Cup venue’s Brabazon course, one shot better than former U.S. Open and PGA champion Martin Kaymer and Frenchman Benjamin Hebert. World No. 30 Bernd Wiesberger, the highest-ranked player in the field, tied for fifth alongside Scotsman Craig Howie on 12 under.

In ideal scoring conditions—41 of the 64-strong field broke par—Hojgaard’s closing 65 tied for low round of the day. He was four under par for the last five holes, an eagle at the par-5 17th the highlight when his 260-yard hybrid second shot pulled up no more than 10 feet from the cup. A safe par at the treacherous 18th (where he made a triple-bogey 7 on Thursday) set the target only Walters could match.

“It’s been a tough day,” said Hojgaard, who began the final round five shots behind Walters. “I went out with the same mindset I had all week. My aim was just to give myself as many birdie opportunities as possible, then see if I could take advantage of them. Much more than yesterday, I managed that. The last six holes were a bit of a blur. I was disappointed when I made a bogey on the 12th, then again when I didn’t birdie the par-5 15th. But from then on I took the chances when they came along. The shot I hit to the 17th green was the best of them though. It was an incredible shot.”

Up to fourth on the Race to Dubai and (provisionally) around 60th in the world, Hojgaard also topped the mini Order of Merit made up of the six events of the European Tour’s initial U.K. Swing. No surprise there for the man who was part of Denmark’s winning side at the 2018 World Amateur Team Championship (alongside twin brother, Nicolai). Second at the British Masters, T-6 at the Hero Open and third at the English Championship, Hojgaard was clearly the most consistent performer over the six-week stretch. Not bad for a teenager who was at the European Tour Qualifying School less than a year ago. In three weeks time, he will make his U.S Open debut at Winged Foot.

In contrast to the winner’s beaming smile in the immediate aftermath of victory, it was a day of disappointment for at least some of those piled up behind the precocious champion. Walters in particular. In what was his 227th European Tour start the 39-year-old remains winless at the end of a round that contained a little bit of everything. Two shots clear with 18 holes to play, Walters made seven birdies and two bogeys in his closing 70. But the drive he hit out-of-bounds way right of the eighth fairway en route to a triple-bogey 7 will surely be his biggest regret.

Ross Kinnaird

Likewise, Kaymer’s search for a first victory since the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst continues. The 34-year-old German looked the likely winner for much of the back nine. First to reach 13 under par, and first to reach 14 under, Kaymer struck a series of beautiful iron shots into the soft Belfry greens. Most of those birdie chances went unrequited, however. Although the bogey 6 at the reachable 17th, where, after a wayward drive, he took three to get down from just off the green, will no doubt be the unforced error the former World No. 1 will rue most.

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By John Huggan
On paper at least, the sixth and last event on the European Tour’s U.K. Swing, the U.K. Championship at The Belfry, looks to be the best of the bunch. Five of the world’s top-50 players are in attendance at the four-time Ryder Cup venue in the English Midlands—Bernd Wiesberger, Lee Westwood, Danny Willett, Matt Wallace and Victor Perez—easily the most since the Old World circuit made its return from the COVID-19 shutdown.

So things are looking up all round, with Willett epitomising the air of positivity after enduring 11 days of quarantine and three (negative) tests for coronavirus. Despite an 11-tournament run on the PGA Tour that featured six missed cuts, only one top-10 finish and saw him drop from 31st to 42nd on the World Rankings—a season he cheerfully describes as “higgledey-piggledy”—the former Masters champion was all smiles during his pre-tournament press conference.

“I just didn’t quite have my best stuff going,” he explained. “It’s one of those ones where if you don’t play good golf you’re going to miss-cuts. The guys [on the PGA Tour] are great golfers and you’ve got to be on your game. I wasn’t. I stuck in one really nice finish in the middle of it all [T-4 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic], but I’ve never really played more than two or three events in a row. With the restart, I was trying to play catch-up because I wasn’t sure how the exemptions are going to work next year. Really, I was just trying to play a few instead of just staying at home.”

Still, the 32-year-old has much to look forward to in what is his first visit to The Belfry since a far-off day spent watching practice for the 2002 Ryder Cup (“I wasn’t that big, so I didn’t see a lot”). Having made it through the requisite period of quarantine, Willett has wife, Nicole, on the bag for the first time this week.

“We’re in our own little bubble so it should be good fun,” said the current BMW PGA champion, a father of two. “My wife and I haven’t had more than two hours alone in seven months. So we are using this week to have a bit of time together on our own. She has never caddied for me, and she’s a bit nervous. She doesn’t want to get anything wrong. Luckily we’ve got a nice draw with Bernd and Laney [Wiesberger’s caddie, Jamie Lane], who is a good pal of ours. So hopefully he’ll be raking bunkers for me and making sure she’s looked after.”

Willett was less concerned about his lack of experience on a course that was once a regular feature of life on the European Tour. Between 1978 and 2008, The Belfry hosted nine English Opens, four Benson & Hedges International Opens, one Hennessey Cognac Cup match between Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe and three British Masters.

Already, in fact, Willett’s mind is drifting forward to November and the prospect of a spectator-free Masters he describes as “strange.”

“I’ve played Augusta with nobody there in December last year and again in early February,” he said. “I’m not sure if many guys will have done that. It will be a few degrees colder and a little windier and obviously a different course to what we see in April. It will be interesting to see if they can get it fast enough and firm enough, weather-permitting. Plus, maybe more than any other golf tournament in the world, no fans at the Masters will make a hell of a difference. But you’ve got a world-class golf course and you’ll have a world-class champion. Hopefully everything can go well.”

This week too. For both Mr. and Mrs. Willett.

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By John Huggan
Much fanfare surrounded Thursday’s announcement that the European Tour will resume its 2020 season with an initial six-tournament U.K. Swing starting at the British Masters July 22-25. The tour’s chief executive, Keith Pelley, was understandably excited about the prospect of competitive play on the Old World circuit, fallow since the Qatar Masters in early March.

Still, while the likelihood is that the British Masters, English Open, English Championship, Celtic Classic, Wales Open and U.K. Championship will all take place through the end of August—all without spectators—a few hurdles remain to be cleared.

In a memo to the tour membership that has been seen by Golf Digest, David Park, a former Walker Cup player and the European Tour’s head of player relations, outlined a situation that he says “continues to evolve.” Perhaps most importantly—and although on-going discussions have been “positive”—Pelley’s request for a player exemption from the two-week quarantine currently in place for those entering the United Kingdom has not yet received official government approval. With such a broad-based international membership, that is a vital component for the European Tour.

RELATED: European Tour set to resume 2020 season with six-event U.K. swing

Should that come to pass, other logistical issues remain. Full details of the tour’s Medical Health Strategy and required testing are still being finalized. Meanwhile, as “behind closed door” events, the tour has told players that no family or guests will be permitted onsite in this initial run of tournaments, and officials continue to evaluate access for key support staff (coaches, trainers, managers and manufacturers).

And while it will be a condition of entry into all six tournaments that players and caddies stay in “designated official hotels,” the creation of an all-inclusive “bubble” at three of those will be an issue if full fields of 144 golfers are to be accommodated. Assuming every player and caddie will each require a room, a minimum of 288 will be needed. Throw in support staff and that number will surely exceed 300.

Forest of Arden, host to the English Open, boasts only 214 rooms. Hanbury Manor, site of the English Championship, has only 149, plus 12 suites. The situation is happier at Celtic Manor, where the Celtic Classic and Wales Open will take place. The 2010 Ryder Cup site has well over 500 rooms in a variety of on-course premises, including 330 in the resort hotel alone. Equally, the Belfry has 319 bedrooms, enough to comfortably host every player and caddie at the U.K. Championship.

Significantly, however, players and caddies have been warned not to book “any other accommodation for the U.K. Swing.” Park points out that “this is an essential part of reducing the risks associated with the spread of COVID-19 and everyone’s safety. Also, this has been a key part of the discussions with the U.K. government to enable the events to take place. The European Tour is arranging for sufficient hotel rooms for all players and caddies at each of the events.”

Having said that, no promises are being made to the players that full fields of 144 will be achieved. As is the case for regular European Tour events, 2020 exemption categories will be used as the basis to fill the fields. But, although invitations to non-tour members are to be kept to a minimum, “a small number may be required to assist with commercial and sponsorship agreements we are working on with potential partners for each of the events.”

“Final field sizes will be determined by the number of people we are permitted to have onsite for a behind-closed-doors event by the local and national authorities,” Park said.

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