Nicolai Hojgaard was one of the frontrunners to win the recently concluded $9.9 million Houston Open. Unfortunately, slipping down the leaderboard at the last moment, it was Gary Woodland who clinched an impressive win. But while the golfing world is still busy praising the Danish star’s performance, the star golfer came in with a bombshell of news. 

“Nicolai Hojgaard a WD from Valero Texas Open,” read an update from Underdog Golf on X. 

This was a move few fans saw coming. Surprisingly, Hojgaard has not provided any explanations for why he decided to skip the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio. But one of the presumed reasons has been his heartbreaking loss at the Houston Open. 

Trying to clinch the winning spot in Houston, he struggled to maintain his momentum as he finished 16-under par to claim the second spot. En route to his play on the final day, Hojgaard dropped a couple of bogeys in his initial 10 holes. This pegged him back significantly, giving Woodland the advantage. Although he tried his best to close the gap at the very end, Woodland delivered an impressive performance to seal the victory with a 21-under-par performance. 

On the bright side, such a strong performance also meant that the Danish golfer had secured his place for the Augusta Masters. Coming to the Houston Open, Hojgaard had a lot at stake as he was 47th in the OWGR ranking. Thankfully, after clinching a little over $1 million in prize money, Hojgaard now ranks 36th, securing him firmly for an under-50 cutoff.

Meanwhile, despite his saddening loss, Hojgaard maintained his sporting self by heaping praises on Gary Woodland.

Nicolai Hojgaard applauds Gary Woodland’s emotional comeback win after long wait

While Nicolai Hojgaard failed to secure a win despite posting a strong contention against Woodland, the Danish star was glad that Gary Woodland could finally grab the moment he had been waiting for so long. Woodland secured a PGA Tour win after seven long years. And in this span of seven years, he faced the toughest phase of his life.

Acknowledging Woodland’s remarkable form at the Houston Open, Hojgaard said, “He played unbelievably today. There was some good stuff out there as well. Yeah, I felt like the double ball against seven is you know if. That kind of put me on the back foot a little bit. But you know, I’m happy with the way I was fighting out there and there’s some good stuff to build on going forward.”

Expressing happiness for Woodland’s win, Hojgaard accepted his defeat as he stated, “We talked about it I thought it was appropriate to to make him have his moment It’s a pretty cool moment for Gary and it was cool to see I’m really happy for him.”

Woodland, to overcome his ailment, underwent brain surgery. While the surgery was successfully conducted and he was back on the greens soon after recovering, he was struggling with PTSD. He kept his battles a secret and continued to fight against all odds to work towards his dream of shining bright yet again in the sport. And finally, he did it.

Alongside praising Woodland, Hojgaard also analyzed his gameplay and added, “I mean obviously not the outcome I was hoping for. Managed to stay in the fight on the back nine and thought if I made the eagle on 16. You know something interesting could happen last two and then when I didn’t make the eagle, I felt like it was you know, I couldn’t reach him. It’s a fair play to Gary.”

Now, as Nicolai Hojgaard takes a step back from the Valero Texas Open, fans will wait to see him back on the greens again soon.