Danish Golf Championship Tips 2025

It’s now or never for Matt Wallace and he’s my pick of the logjam at the top of the market. Don’t worry GBS Podcast regulars, I’m not going to ruin an Elvis classic with a poor rendition of the King of Rock and Roll’s classic to emphasise Matt’s predicament, but suffice it to say that this week and next are the Englishman’s sole and unequivocal focus if he’s going to stand any chance of convincing Luke Donald that he’s worthy of a place in his final 12.

At 11th in the rankings as it stands, the 35 year-old will undoubtedly be in the captain’s thought process for that tricky final pick or two, however I feel that he needs to win this week or next to really stand a chance of convincing the gaffer.

We’ve seen this before with Matt at the 2018 Made in Denmark, essentially this event under another guise and at another course, where he needed to win to even stand a chance of onlooking Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn picking him for that year’s team, and he obliged in some style. Birdies at 5 of the final 6 holes in regulation play got the fiery Hillingdon man into a 4-way play-off which he won with birdies on both holes to take the title in impressive fashion, and although it ultimately wasn’t enough to convince Bjorn to take him to the Ryder Cup, it at least showed he’s capable of producing the goods when it really matters.

We’ve also seen Wallace step down from PGA Tour to DP World Tour level with fairly immediate results having won last year’s Omega Masters a week after finishing 8^th at The Belfry upon his return across the Atlantic. There’s no such warm-up this year I grant you, however the fact remains that he is more than capable of beating this field.

3^rd at the 3M Open gave Matt an outside chance of making the FedEx Cup PlayOffs with a big result at the Wyndham Championship, and although that didn’t happen a tie for 27^th wasn’t disastrous and he arrives here knowing that he’s in decent shape given how positive he’s been of late on social media about the state of his game. RESULT: T64

I last backed Andy Sullivan at the Italian Open after a similarly encouraging run of form for much the same reasons as I’m backing him this week, hopefully though he can improve on the 33^rd place finish he mustered that week and seriously contend for a fifth DP World Tour title almost exactly five years after his last victory.

Three times a winner back in 2015 in a stretch of form that ultimately saw him qualify by rights for the 2016 Ryder Cup, it was his 2020 victory at the English Championship that interested me most for the Italian Open and the same logic applies this week too. Hanbury Manor was the host course that summer as golf got back underway after the Covid lockdowns and Sullivan mastered that short, parkland Par 71, eventually running out as the 7-stroke winner at a massive 27-under.

That effort came after finishes of 4th at the British Masters and 41st at the Hero Open the week before where he was top-20 heading into the weekend, and he arrives here with even more eye-catching form of 17^th at the Scottish Open and 7^th last week in Aberdeen, rounded off the week in style with a pinpoint approach and birdie on the 72^nd hole. RESULT: T16

Generally a shorter-hitting but tidy operator with a strong approach game, it was the flat stick which shone last week as he ranked 8^th on the week for SG Putting, and that bodes well ahead of a week with perfect golfing conditions where a score should be there to be made on a course which I think suits him far better.

Having won three times on the Nordic Golf League before the age of 18, it’s fair to say that Oliver Lindell hasn’t pushed on at quite the rate that was anticipated of him at that tender age. Now aged 26 perhaps he’s matured enough and learned enough to take the next step, and there are certainly signs that he’s quite capable of competing at DP World Tour level.

A fabulous finish to his 2024 Challenge Tour campaign saw Lindell record eight consecutive top-9 finishes to earn a stab at the top level this season and top 20 finishes at the Australian Open, Mauritius Open, Qatar Masters, Turkish Open and Austrian Open were impressive. He seems to have stepped up a gear from there though, recording a 10^th place finish at the Italian Open on a compatible track to this week’s test before producing a personal best 7^th at this level last week following an impressive 28^th place effort on his Major debut at Royal Portrush.

In truth neither he nor anyone was catching Grant Forrest last week in Aberdeen, so the fact that he trod water on Sunday is of no real concern; on the contrary, 6^th for both SG Approach and SG Tee to Green were impressive figures ahead of this week’s trip to Denmark where he’s performed well in the past.

Having turned professional at the start of the 2016 after winning his maiden Nordic Golf League event as an amateur, Lindell’s two wins in that following season were both in Denmark and his most recent trip to the region at last year’s Danish Golf Challenge on the 2^nd tier saw him finish runner-up courtesy of a blistering final round of 62. RESULT: T8

After a torrid three months that contained seven consecutive missed cuts, it was interesting to see Adrian Otaegui show some progress last week and at least bank a cheque.

Having finished 26^th at the China Open and then 11^th at the Hainan Classic, it looked like the Spanish-born golfer, who now represents the UAE, would push on and challenge for a sixth title at DP World Tour level. May, June and July didn’t produce a single paid weekend though so it was interesting to see the 32 year-old open with a round of 69 last week at Trump International to sit 5^th after day 1, then close with a solid round of 70, which again was beaten by just 4 players on the day. The less said about Friday and Saturday the better, however positive signs nonetheless.

Averaging a little over 285 yards from off the tee, Otaegui is generally more proficient on shorter courses that require a little more precision than brute power, highlighted by his 6-stroke victory at Valderrama back in 2022. Now I’m not suggesting for one moment that this week’s test is anything like as claustrophobic as that Spanish masterpiece of a track, however at a winning total of 19-under that week it was an uncharacteristically ‘easy’ renewal and that may be a good pointer for this week.

Typically one of the straightest hitters from off the tee, Adrian ranked 6^th for GIR last week in Aberdeen despite ending up in a tie for 56^th and a similar approach this week may see him make a mockery of the odds on offer, particularly as he already has a pair of top-10 finishes to his name in this part of the world at the 2016 & 2018 Made in Denmark events. RESULT: MC

Finally, having caught the eye for the first three rounds last week, I’ll take a small, speculative punt on Daan Huizing to build on that effort on Danish soil where he’s shown some promise in the past.

Three times a winner on the Challenge Tour over the years, he’s struggled to make the same inroads when it’s come to stepping up a level, however 3^rd at the 2022 Cazoo Classic and 10^th at the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links suggests that he’s capable of competing at this level on occasion, as was evident with the Dutchman sitting in 2^nd place heading into Sunday last week in Scotland before fall to a tie for 19^th.

Another relatively short hitter who occupied a similar area on the Driving Distance stats to the aforementioned Adrian Otaegui last season, after a poor 2024 which saw him lose his DP World Tour card, these opportunities to play at the upper level and work towards regaining his full playing rights have to be taken seriously.

The putter was the real star of the show for the 34 year-old last week as he led the field for Stroke Gained Putting, and the slightly more forgiving nature of this course for errant drives and approaches might help give Daan a few more opportunities this week.

4^th and 3^rd at the 2018 and 2019 Made in Denmark Challenge, Huizing’s last two efforts on Danish soil in this event under its Made in Himmerland guise have both resulted in top-10 finishes, and he clearly feels comfortable in this part of the world. RESULT: MC