Golf is starting to see double. Identical twins from Japan, Denmark and Germany are competing

Updated Nov. 5, 2024 3:07 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark is a lock to be among the leading 10 players from the European tour who earn a PGA Tour card for 2025, making it the second straight year of identical twins on the PGA Tour. His brother, Nicolai, earned one of those European spots last year.

Pierceson and Parker Coody, the grandsons of former Masters champion Charles Coody, had tour cards this season.

More sets of identical twins might not be too far behind on various tours.

Jeremy Paul of Germany has earned a PGA Tour card for 2025 through the Korn Ferry Tour. His twin brother, Yannik Paul, is on the European tour and has an outside chance of getting one of the 10 cards for the PGA Tour.

In Japan, the 22-year-old Iwai twins — Akie and Chisato — each have three victories on the Japan LPGA this year, and both are among the top 50 in the world.

Identical twins are nothing new in golf — think back to Curtis and Allan Strange — but it's no longer a novelty.

The Hojgaard twins are the most accomplished. Nicolai made his Ryder Cup debut at Marco Simone in Italy last year. Rasmus has five European tour titles, two more than his brother. Nicolai is currently No. 55 in the world ranking, Rasmus is at No. 56 going into the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship this week.

Rasmus nearly earned a PGA Tour card last year, beaten out of the 10th spot in the final tournament by Matthieu Pavon.

“It’s probably a good thing that Nicolai went over there to start with,” he said Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. “Now I can sort of guide myself around and hopefully not make some of the same mistakes. We talked a lot about it, and yeah, we’re going to probably find maybe a place over there and make it easier, not traveling over the Atlantic every other week.”

The Hojgaards and Coodys made a small slice of PGA Tour history this year when both sets of identical twins played in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Odds are the Danish twins will be the only ones on the PGA Tour in 2025. Pierceson Coody is at No. 130 in the FedEx Cup, while Parker Coody is at No. 169 with three tournaments left.

The Paul brothers went their separate ways after playing college golf at Colorado. Yannik is No. 155 in the world because of getting more ranking points on the European tour. Jeremy beat him to the PGA Tour — at least for now. Yannik is No. 43 in the Race to Dubai and would need a big week in Abu Dhabi to make up ground and get the 10th PGA Tour card.

Oddly enough, their time at Colorado overlapped with another set of identical twins competing for the Buffaloes — Jenny and Kristin Coleman, who have both played on the Epson Tour. Jenny Coleman has made it to the LPGA Tour (including this year), while her sister has never advanced past the developmental Epson Tour.

Go back two decades to find Aree and Naree Song on the LPGA Tour. Aree Song was runner-up at the Kraft Nabisco Championship at age 17 in 2004, the same year her sister won on what is now the Epson Tour.

As for the Iwai twins, their record on the Japan LPGA is nearly identical, too. Both have won three times this year. Akie is No. 26 in the world, Chisato is No. 48. Both played in the U.S. Women's Open and the Women's British Open. Chisato tied for 19th in the U.S. Women's Open and Akie tied for seventh at St. Andrews.

Scott’s schedule

Adam Scott has been loyal throughout the years to his native Australia, often playing the Australian PGA and the Australian Open, and the Australian Masters when it was going. One year he played all three, plus the World Cup of Golf in Australia.

Only twice when there were no travel restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic did Scott fail to return home, in 2018 and 2008.

But this has been a long year, and Scott is staying in his Switzerland home after the European tour season ends.

“Throughout my career I have always done my best to come back to Australia to compete in at least some of our great local events,” Scott told Australian Golf Digest. “This year will be an exception, as I need to spend some quality time with my family and get some rest.”

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is his 23rd tournament this season, a year that has included him being part of the PGA Tour board as it navigates a potential deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

The 44-year-old Scott is at No. 19 in the world, his highest ranking in more than four years.

LPGA awards

Now that Nelly Korda has wrapped up LPGA player of the year, two more awards are still be to be decided.

The LPGA said Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand has withdrawn from The Annika next week in Florida, meaning she will not have enough rounds to qualify for the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average. The award comes with one point toward the Hall of Fame. Korda also is ineligible for not playing enough rounds.

Ayaka Furue of Japan has a slim lead over Haeran Ryu of South Korea for the Vare Trophy.

Mao Saigo of Japan is leading the race for rookie of the year, ahead of Jin Hee Im. Saigo is not defending her title on the Japan LPGA this week so she can play in the Lotte Championship in Hawaii.

Scheduling problem

The PGA Tour Champions has released its 2025 schedule and it includes one particularly busy week in May.

The Regions Tradition, the first of five majors on the senior circuit, is scheduled for May 15-18, following an open date. It’s a curious choice because that’s the same week as the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

It’s the only time a senior major and a regular major are held in the same week. And because PGA champions are exempt for life, that means Padraig Harrington, Y.E. Yang and John Daly will have to decide between a senior major and the PGA Championship.

Major champions in India

The Hindustan Times is reporting that U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is likely to be playing the first Asian Tour “International Series” event held in India next year, along with the rest of his Crushers teammates from LIV Golf. That includes Anirban Lahiri of India.

“If everything works out, I am extremely excited about the opportunity to play in India,” DeChambeau told the newspaper. “I have never been there, but it’s a country that has fascinated me.”

The report indicated DeChambeau would be the first reigning major champion to play in India, and it was picked up by several outlets.

That would ignore Peter Thomson of Australia.

Thomson was the reigning British Open champion (1965 at Royal Birkdale, the last of his five Open titles) when he played in the 1966 Indian Open held that year in April. Thomson also won the inaugural Indian Open in 1964 and was bullish about its potential as a golf market.

Divots

A pair of teenagers are on tour this week. Dylan Brack, an 18-year-old from California, makes his PGA Tour debut after he qualified for the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico. Honorine Nobuta Ferry, 14, received a sponsor exemption for the Lotte Championship in Hawaii on the LPGA. ... Luke Clanton of Florida State, the No. 1 player in the world amateur ranking, is among 16 players invited to the Walker Cup practice session. The matches next year will be held at Cypress Point. ... ESPN+ will offer featured group coverage from the CME Group Tour Championship on the LPGA. ... Thriston Lawrence of South Africa leads the 10 European tour members in line to receive PGA Tour cards next year. Romain Langasque of France is No. 10 by a slim margin (44 points) over Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland.

Stat of the week

Only six players in the 120-man field at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico are already in the Masters. The winner this week earns a Masters invitation.

Final word

“My intention when I was a young guy was to play amateur golf. I only turned pro because I was beating the guys who were turning pro.” — Padraig Harrington, inducted this year into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

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This version corrects the spelling of Allan Strange's first name.

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