In a remarkable finish, McIlroy’s dropped shot at 17 coupled with Hojgaard’s closing birdie meant the four-time major winner needed an improbable eagle to take the Dane to extra holes.
And having boomed a drive up the fairway, McIlroy gave himself a chance when he drilled an excellent seven-iron to 10 feet. But his putt agonisingly shaved the right edge of the cup as he was denied the perfect end to a memorable week on the sun-kissed Newcastle links.
It is another impressive result in the young career of Hojgaard, though. His identical twin brother Nicolai made the European Ryder Cup team last year but they could both be in Luke Donald’s squad heading to New York next year if he continues to produce golf of this quality.
Starting the day four back of McIlroy, he had to wait until the fifth for his opening birdie. And while he gave one back at eight, he kick-started his challenge with three birdies in four from the ninth that included a chip-in at 10.
A dropped shot on 13 briefly threatened to derail his bid but his birdies on 14, 16, 17 and 18 allowed him to pip McIlroy in a gripping duel that went down to the wire.
“This feels pretty good,” said Hojgaard.
“There were a lot of nerves coming down the stretch.”
He added: “I was trying to get to a number, eight-under, today and see if that would have a chance. Obviously, I holed out a few times and get to nine-under.”