Q. A lot that's happened in the two years since you last played in this event, obviously the circumstances of being in the team are completely different as well; you being a replacement for Rasmus last time around. How important is being part of the Team Cup two years ago on your journey that you've been through over the last few years?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: Yeah, it was a great start to the season. I wasn't expecting to get a pick back then, and I was told I wasn't playing, and obviously fueled the fire quite a bit to start the season. But Ras got an injury, and I got the call and made the most of it. It kick-started my season and after that week, I thought, maybe I have a shot at a Ryder Cup in the future if I keep doing this.
Yeah, it started a great '23 season. Hopefully this week kick starts that again. It's a great week to start the season, very competitive. It's match play. Bad shot doesn't hurt as much as if you play stroke play, so that's a good way to start the season I think, and I think we are very competitive and there's a lot of guys here who wants to prove to Luke that there's 20 guys who wants to play on the Ryder Cup.
Q. What's the vibe like going into the team room? Because the setup is fantastic.
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: It's fantastic. It's a great setup. I think we all are starting to gel now. There's a lot of new faces this year compared to '23. So we've all got to gel together and get ready for Friday. But yeah, it's a great vibe in the team room.
I think all of us really wants to keep the trophy, and the only way to do that is if you gel together and you play your best golf and trying to win points, and never give up in match play. There's going to be some we're moments on the golf course, some interesting moments, but you never give up because you never know when it's going to turn around.
Q. You're one of five Danish players on the Continental Europe side. How proud are you guys to be able to represent them?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: Yeah, it's great. There's nothing better than representing your country and continent. So having five Danes here is mind-blowing to be fair. I think it's half of the team. You'd never have thought that as a Dane, never.
Now to produce that many good players, and a few guys coming up, as well, it's great for the game back home, and going forward, and this week, we've got some new faces with some incredibly good golfers.
If you're here, you've done something really well and deserving to be here. There might be many Danes but everyone is deserving to be here. They have all played great golf and that's why they are here. We are obviously very excited, and we've got a great bond with each other but you also have to remember, we are ten players, not just five Danes. We have to gel with everyone. Yeah, very excited.
Q. How comfortable do you feel, if we look back to '23 when you said you were a late call-up, and now you know everyone associated with the Ryder Cup from Luke down and his vice captains and the backroom team as well. How are the emotions compared to two years ago?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: Yeah, I know what's up now a little bit more with everything around and behind the scenes. So I feel quite comfortable.
But nothing changed when you get to the first tee. It's same feelings. You're going to be nervous and you really want to perform. You're kind of really looking forward to that moment. Yeah, I feel quite comfortable knowing that I've been here in '23 and in Rome and knowing what it's all about, I think that's going to help me maybe calm a little bit down before the tournament and when we get started.
But at the end of the day, it's good golf is what really matters this week. So you have to go out and play good golf, and that's the main goal.
Q. We don't want to give anything away obviously, we don't know, but the prospect of playing with your twin brother again in a professional event on a team together?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: That would be great. That's a goal of ours, and the biggest goal for us is going out in the Ryder Cup together, and that's the main goal for us.
But this would be a great start, and hopefully Luke and Fran sees that when we are going to make pairings, maybe today or tomorrow, I don't know when it's going to be announced. Hopefully we get the chance. We both really want that, and I think, yeah, that's what we've thought about for a long time since the Team Cup was on the schedule again.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports