Double vision: Denmark’s Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard set to become first twins to play the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Rasmus Hojgaard and his identical twin brother Nicolai grew up playing golf in Denmark, occasionally pretending they were on the other side of the world at Augusta National.

"We would tell each other 'this is the putt to win the Masters,'" Rasmus said, "and then try to compete with each other."

This week they'll both have a chance to fulfill that childhood dream - all while making Masters history.

The Danish duo will become the first set of twins ever to play in the Masters together. There have been 18 sets of brothers who've played here together, most recently Italy's Eduardo and Francesco Molinari from 2010-2012, but none have been twins.

"I think we really started watching the Masters when we were about 10, 11 years old," Rasmus said. "So 2012 when Bubba (Watson) won was probably the first real memory we have of the place. Yeah, it's nice to be here now."

This is Nicolai’s second Masters.

He actually led last year’s tournament for 10 holes in the third round, only to fall out of contention after shooting 74 and 76 on the weekend. He finished tied for 16th. It was Nicolai’s best finish in nine majors, but not enough to earn an automatic bid to this year’s tournament since only the top 12 are guaranteed a spot. He received a special invitation to play the Masters this year.

Rasmus is making his first Masters appearance, earning his way in after finishing in the top 50 in the world rankings last year. This will be his seventh major.

On Sunday, the 24-year-old twins toured the historic course together and Nicolai pointed out some tips to his slightly younger brother on how to navigate one of golf’s toughest challenges this week since Rasmus has never played here. That preceded a joint news conference on Tuesday, where they inadvertently wound up "twinning" after showing up in similar outfits.

"Completely random," Nicolai joked.

The twins would be nearly indecipherable if not for Rasmus’ slightly longer hair.

There have been other twins in golf, but none quite as accomplished as the Hojgaards. Rasmus ranks 55th in the world and has won five times on the European Tour, two more than his brother. Nicolai ranks 82nd and was a member of the winning European Ryder Cup team in 2023.

They won't be playing in the same group at the Masters on Thursday, however.

Nicolai will be in the second threesome on the course, while Rasmus tees off in the afternoon.

There was a time that might have been a good thing. Growing up, the twins were extremely competitive on the course and didn’t always get along. When one brother beat the other they would often go days without speaking to one another.

"I don't think we supported each other very much back then," Rasmus said. "We would fight a lot more than saying congratulations."

There are no regrets, though.

Nicolai said that fierce sibling rivalry helped shape and drive them to get to where they are today.

“That helped a certain amount, really wanting to beat each other and that competitive edge we both have," Nicolai said.

Times have since changed somewhat, though.

The twins have matured and are now big supporters of each other’s game and the successes that have come along with it. They can often be seen practicing together and helping each other as much as possible when their games veer off course.

"We got older and we can shake each other's hand now and say congrats when someone is playing well - and be brothers as well and friends at the same time," Nicolai said.

But the competitiveness will always be there.

So what happens if the other brother knocks off defending champion Scottie Scheffler and gets to wear the green jacket on Sunday?

"Probably be very frustrating," Rasmus said with a long laugh. "No, I think it would be very cool. It would be very cool. If something like that happens, I think we'll deal with it at the time, but I think it's hard to sit here and try and explain what that would feel like.”

"Agree," added Nicolai.