HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

January 18, 2024

Rasmus Højgaard

Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. 5-under; what are your thoughts on that round?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: I think it was pretty good from how I played today. I think everyone could see I was a bit offline from the tee box today but I managed to scramble my way around and then obviously had eagle on 10 and the two birdies at the end. So I'm very happy with the round.

Q. You did straighten things up off the tee?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Well, I'm just going to hit a few drives now. I hit a good drive there on 17 and a good 3-wood down 18. I think I have a swing thought I might be able to use.

Q. It is a demanding course off the tee. Is that something that you came into the week thinking would be at a premium?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Yeah, well, it's always the same if you're not hitting it straight, but I got away with a few lies in the sand. So yeah, I just need to sharpen up my tee shots. Everything else was pretty good.

Q. Is that all it is, just a case of being a little bit sharper in one or two areas?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Yeah, definitely. Out here it is very much a ball-striking golf course. If you hit it straight off the tee and you hit it on the greens, you can give yourself some good chances. There's a couple of good short par 4s and par 5s which is easy to reach in two. So there's birdie chances out there, but it's easy to run into bogeys and worse.

Q. How key is it to try and keep those bogeys off the card? Maybe a little cautious maybe in some spots?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Yeah, I mean, there's some flags and some holes where you just, for me, I'm just not trying to be aggressive. Hit in the middle of the green and maybe hole the putt, maybe not. But there's plenty of holes out there where you can be aggressive.

So I think it's taking advantage of the situation when you have it.

Q. A few things to work on but how do you build on this round and carry momentum into tomorrow?

RASMUS HØJGAARD: Well, I mean, there was a lot of good out there as well. It's just a little feeling that I have off the tee that I need to try out now on the range, and then that might change for tomorrow. Yeah, I got away with a very good score today, so I'm very happy.