Leona Maguire and Nicolai Hojgaard victories offer reminder of European talent

Leona Maguire was instrumental in helping Europe retain the Solheim Cup in Ohio last September

Amid current uncertainty on the future direction of professional golf, it is reassuring that Europe boasts exciting young talent in the male and female ranks of the game.

A strong reminder of this fact was delivered last weekend. Victory on Saturday at the Drive On Championship, a first triumph for Ireland on the LPGA Tour, was a landmark moment for Leona Maguire.

Meanwhile the Danish turbo twins, Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, continue their rapid progress on the DP World Tour with Nicolai tenaciously winning the Ras al Khaimah Championship on Sunday.

It was not the biggest event, but it still highlighted a remarkable ongoing story. This pair of brothers have already accumulated five titles between them on the European-based circuit and they are just 20 years of age.

Nicolai's latest victory backed up a breakthrough win at last year's Italian Open.

"If they were British or American, there would be a lot more excitement around them," their fellow Dane and 2018 Ryder Cup captain, Thomas Bjorn, recently told reporters.

And there is undoubtedly plenty to rouse European golf fans from the astonishing rate of success these brothers have enjoyed at the start of their professional careers.

It is clear they are pushing each other in a unique family way. Rasmus is edging it with three tournament wins but Nicolai is now the higher ranked at 67 in the world and 41 places higher than his sibling.

Both seem certain to be in the mind of whoever captains the next European Ryder Cup team. But the selection process for that post remains mired in uncertainty generated by the Saudi Arabian influence currently destabilising the status quo.

Several future captaincy candidates - the likes of Henrik Stenson, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia - are thought to be targets of a mooted lucrative Super Golf League, funded by the Saudis.

More certain at the moment is the potential of the Hojgaards to become gatecrashers on the world's elite. Last month, Nicolai left Australia's former world number one Adam Scott deeply impressed by the quality of his ball striking.

"It's been a while since I have played with a young kid who made me sit back and take notice," the 2013 Masters champion said. "His speed is incredible."

Scott suggested that Nicolai's wedge game needs development, but if he is able to make those improvements he has potential to reach the very highest level.

"I look at a kid like that and hope he works on the right things, gets the right advice and can go on because he has incredible talent," Scott added.

"There's nothing stopping him from being one of the best players in the world. He has all the attributes you would want aged 20.

"I would just tell him to become a great wedge player because he is never going to lose that hitting ability. Dustin Johnson worked really hard on his wedges and became a machine out on tour. It looks like Dustin playing, to me."

Nicolai Hojgaard won the Italian Open last September, the week after Rasmus won the European Masters - they were the first brothers to win successive titles on the European Tour

Nicolai showed he has the necessary mettle last Sunday after a four-stroke lead crumbled to a two-stroke deficit with a double bogey on the 12th hole of his final round. "I was thinking that I was throwing the tournament away," he admitted.

But the young Dane knuckled down and showed commendable composure with an inspired eagle at the 14th to set up a strong, title-collecting finish. That winning mentality is an invaluable commodity.

"I'm quite excited for the future now," Nicolai said. "When you're playing good you start looking at all the rankings. I'm motivated to keep going and get better and hopefully qualify for those big tournaments."

This success will also spur on Rasmus. If they maintain their current trajectory there is every chance we will see brothers on the same European Ryder Cup team for the first time since Francesco and Edoardo Molinari in the 2010 match at Celtic Manor.

"We need them to slowly find their feet properly," said Ryder Cup legend Poulter after playing with Rasmus in Abu Dhabi last month. "And if they do that, they'll be a backbone of the Ryder Cup team for a long time."

Maguire, coincidentally also a twin, has already made her mark for Europe against the United States with a stunning Solheim Cup debut in Toledo last year.

She won four and a half points out of five in the continent's outstanding defence of the trophy.

And now, aged 27, the Irishwoman has become a champion on the LPGA tour at the 50th attempt. It was only a matter of time for a player blessed with a game and temperament that made her world amateur number one for an unprecedented 135 weeks.

Maguire has also set the record for the lowest ever final round in a major with a 61 at last year's Evian Championship where she finished sixth. Now she has a tour win under her belt.

Expect this to be a lift off moment. Like the Hojgaards, she is one to watch and offers plenty to excite European golf fans as the 2022 season develops.