Nexo Championship Tips 2025

In what can only be described as a weak event with even some of the more regular DP World Tour stalwarts taking an extended summer break, Marco Penge can’t be ignored as he continues his seemingly inexorable march towards a PGA Tour card for next season.

Progressive form of 28^th at the US PGA Championship, 25^th at the Soudal Open, 21^st at the Italian Open, 11^th at the BMW International Open, and 2^nd at the Scottish Open was finally halted at Royal Portrush, however a significant drop in level may well see the Englishman pick up his second win of the season and leapfrog Haotong Li into pole position to collect the first of 10 State-side cards for 2026.

Power is the 27 year-old’s biggest weapon and he put that to get use at another links-style layout at Renaissance, however the extra Par-5 here this week can only help his cause and the lengthy Par-4s can easily be brought down to size if he can keep himself in play from off the tee. Strokes gained in every category in that Open Championship warm-up, his Off the Tee performance impressed as ever plus he ranked inside the top-10 for SG Tee to Green for the third week in succession as he demonstrated that he can perform on this type of terrain.

A new course for all but a couple of the lower-grade players making an appearance here levels the playing field from an experience perspective, and with pleasant enough conditions expected after a little pre-event rain over the past week as well as Storm Floris, this week sets up beautifully for the Clitheroe native.

A return to Scottish soil saw Grant Forrest produce some eye-catching figures at Renaissance last month, and with another local fixture ahead of him I can see the North Berwick man putting in a strong performance just a relatively short drive up the coast from his home.

22^nd in a very strong field at the Scottish Open saw Forrest top the field for both SG Tee to Green and SG Around the Green whilst ranking inside the top-13 for the other three key metrics, and this lower grade has got to present an opportunity for him to double his DP World Tour tally.

His victory at the 2021 Hero Open holds plenty of relevance to this week as it came on a scoreable Fairmont St Andrews course wedged between his home and this week’s test on the east coast of Scotland. A pair of top-10 finishes at the Dunhill Links in recent times adds to his case this week, and he of course has a wealth of amateur experience on links courses to peak any punters interest for this week.

Renaissance aside, a disappointing season thus far sees the 32 year-old sitting in 112^th place on the Race to Dubai, which is currently the last projected place for keeping a card for next season. Although we’re a long way from push becoming shove in that respect, keeping ahead of the game with a strong outing here this week would do his prospects no harm whatsoever as he looks to emulate what he did in this very same week 4 years ago and secure a victory.

I’ve backed Brandon Robinson-Thompson a few times this season to no avail, however on a course fresh to most of this field I’m happy to give the Isle of Wight man another chance this week.

8^th at the Bahrain Championship, 3^rd at the Qatar Masters, 7^th at the Joburg Open and 4^th at the Turkish Airlines Open are the highlights of an impressive rookie season that sees him sitting in 34^th on the Race to Dubai ahead of this week’s event and in with a great chance of making it all the way to the Earth Course later this year.

Wins on the MENA Tour, EuroPro Tour and Clutch Pro Tour preceded a pair of wins on the Challenge Tour, both of which came relatively close to home at the 2023 Irish Challenge and the 2024 Scottish Challenge, with the latter coming just a few miles inland from this week’s test at Newmachar Golf Club.

The 32 year-old had shown some form the year before on that Aberdeenshire heathland track, finishing a never-nearer 3^rd after a closing 64, and that completed a Scottish form line of 4/3/1 as he’d contended throughout at the previous year’s Scottish Masters on the EuroPro Tour too.

With August form last year of 3/1/6/14 which included his win in this part of the world, suffice it to say he found his best form in this part of the calendar 12 months ago. After a small taste of PGA Tour co-sanctioned golf earlier this month he returns to a more familiar level this week where he could do some damage.

Finally, although backing Joakim Lagergren should come with a health (or wealth) warning, I’m happy to take a chance on the Swede on compatible terrain.

Having stepped up from the Nordic circuit, Lagergren’s breakthrough Challenge Tour win came in Northern Ireland at Galgorm Castle in 2014 before picking up his one and to date only victory at DP World Tour level at the coastal Rocco Forte Sicilian Open in 2018. Victory at the Palmer South Course at the K Club at the start of August last year, on a course that’s very much in the inland links category, ticks both the biorhythms and course fit boxes. That was the first of two Challenge Tour wins in quick succession last summer, and he’s shown enough on occasions since then to make my team here.

8^th at the Bahrain Championship on an exposed track just inland from the sea earlier this year was noteworthy in respect of this week’s task, as was 2^nd at the KLM Open on another exposed track. Both efforts came off the back of indifferent (if I’m being polite) form, so MC/MC/49 coming into this isn’t the end of the world – instead I’ll look to his Dunhill Links form for the final piece of inspiration.

4^th (2015), 4^th (2016), 3^rd (2019) and 2^nd (2021) are impressive finishes for Joakim on the Tour’s annual jaunt around the Scottish links courses, and given his performances there over the years there’s every reason to suggest that he’ll like what he sees when he arrives here up the coast in Aberdeen this week.