Rasmus Hojgaard was made to work hard as he earned a one-shot lead with 18 holes remaining at the Danish Golf Championship.
The Dane began the day two shots clear of playing partner Marco Penge, but the Englishman’s early charge saw him climb to the top of the leaderboard.
🚨🚨🚨 RASMUS HØJGAARD HAS THE SOLO LEAD AFTER ROUND 3 🚨🚨🚨
— Rasmus Højgaard Tracker (@Rasmus_tracker) August 16, 2025
LETS CATCH A WIN ON SUNDAY
-1 (71) pic.twitter.com/oyBy3X0TmD
Hojgaard answered with a birdie at the 8th. When Penge dropped a shot at the 11th, the two were level until Hojgaard rolled in a birdie at the 17th to regain the lead.
The 24-year-old found trouble off the tee at the 18th, but produced a clutch par save to close on 13 under, one clear of Penge.
Asked if his heart was racing over his final putt, Hojgaard admitted: “It was, but it was dead quiet, so I was looking forward to seeing what the reaction was going to be like. It’s going to be an interesting day tomorrow.
“Hundred percent, the aim was to be patient. The wind was tricky, gusty, changing directions, so patience was tested a lot. It was great, I really enjoyed it. Hopefully, I can bring some tears out there tomorrow. This is our fifth Major, so it would be cool if I could stand there with a trophy tomorrow.
In 2023, Rasmus Højgaard became the only Dane to win their home championship...
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 16, 2025
Tomorrow, he has a chance to do it all over again with a one-shot lead👀#DanishGolf pic.twitter.com/VzLUvCUHkH
“If I want to play well tomorrow, I have to handle the situation. I know it’s not going to be totally enjoyable, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Højgaard’s advantage had already been cut to one earlier when he found water with his approach at the 2nd to make bogey.
Penge surged into the outright lead with birdies at the 5th and 6th to move to 12 under. Højgaard drew level again with a birdie at the 8th, only for Penge to match it at the same hole.
But Penge faltered at the 11th, missing a par putt from eight feet, and the Dane capitalised late with a crucial birdie at the 17th from 12 feet before scrambling for par at the last despite having to chip out onto the 17th fairway after an errant tee shot.
Penge had a 12-foot birdie chance to tie Højgaard at 13 under, but missed to start Sunday one back.
Rasmus Højgaard will go into the final round as the solo leader 🇩🇰#DanishGolf pic.twitter.com/hyDT2A7FSN
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 16, 2025
England’s Ben Schmidt matched the course record with a blistering nine-under 64 to charge into solo third on nine-under.
The 23-year-old strung together four straight birdies from the 3rd, added another at the 8th to turn in 30, then picked up further shots at the 13th and 16th before dropping his only stroke at the 17th. He closed with a birdie to equal the course mark.
Copenhagen’s Niklas Norgaard is one shot further back in a share of fourth with Italy’s Gregorio De Leo, American Johannes Veerman and Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg.
Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard and Norway’s Mats Ege, playing on an invite, are tied at seven under.
Lindberg struck the second hole-in-one of the week, using a 52-degree wedge at the 147-yard 2nd, following De Leo’s ace at the 5th on Friday. It was the 16th ace of the 2025 DP World Tour season.