Danish Golf Championship 2024 Tips: 150/1 shot one of six for Denmark

The DP World Tour moves on to Denmark this week and to another brand new course to many in the field, as the rebranded Danish Golf Championship moves to Lubker Golf Resort in Aarhus.

Our golf tipster Jamie Worsley is in red-hot form with five wins in the last five weeks and he's back with another comprehensive preview and he's picked out six players to consider backing each-way as he takes us through his Danish Golf Championship Betting Tips...

David Ravetto’s talents have been well known since the beginning of his pro career, though with little in the way of recent form, he was still a surprising winner of last week’s Czech Masters. Even more so when we consider how impressively he did it, closing with a superb 64 to finish with a score of -23 and run out a four-stroke winner over Sweden’s Jesper Svensson.

This was a win that many felt would eventually arrive for the former top-25 amateur. It will be interesting to see if he’s able to build on it and develop the type of career that his youth career promised.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The tournament debuted as the Made in Denmark in 2014, before taking on the name of the host course, HimmerLand Golf Resort in 2021. We now have the much wider-reaching Danish Golf Championship with the arrival of this new host course.

Scotland’s Marc Warren won the first edition of the event in 2014 – the first of four winners from the UK – beating Bradley Dredge in a playoff.

The tournament has seen just one multiple winner in its history, as Bernd Wiesberger followed his 2019 success by defending the title in 2021, as the event returned after two years away due to COVID.

Last five winners:

• 2023 – Winner: Rasmus Hojgaard (-13, playoff); runner-up: Nacho Elvira (-13)
• 2022 – Winner: Oliver Wilson (-21); runner-up: Ewen Ferguson (-20)
• 2021 – Winner: Bernd Wiesberger (-21); runner-up: Guido Migliozzi (-16)
• 2019 – Winner: Bernd Wiesberger (14); runner-up: Robert MacIntyre (-13)
• 2018 – Winner: Matt Wallace (-19, playoff); runners-up: Steven Brown, Jonathan Thomson, Lee Westwood (-19)

Last year’s renewal was a memorable one for home fans, as Rasmus Hojgaard beat Nacho Elvira in a playoff to become the first Danish winner of the event. Rasmus returns to defend this week and is joined by a strong group of compatriots hoping to emulate him in winning their national title.

THE COURSE

The Lubker Golf Resort was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr and opened in 2008. Since then, it has regularly ranked among the top courses in Denmark. Though barring a handful of events on the Nordic Golf League and in the amateur ranks, it will be the first time the vast majority of this field have experienced the course.

There are three nine-hole courses on the property and it’s the Sand and Sky combination that players will play this week. The course sets up as a par 71 measuring 7026 yards, though has an unusual composition of 9x par 4s (313-498 yards), 5x par 3s (137-243 yards) and 4x par 5s (538-633 yards).

Lubker Golf Resort was created within a pine forest and features both tightly tree-lined holes and those that are more open and spacious. Wetlands come into play on several, whilst the bold and abundant bunkering - some huge and waste-style, with wispy fescue collars - frame many of the holes.

The fairways are around average in width overall, with strategic bunkering and thick, native rough for protection. Most of them dogleg and the angles within them in relation to the greens make for some difficult approach shots.

The raised bentgrass greens are reasonably small, heavily undulating and regularly narrow/shallow in shape. Run-offs are plentiful and often steep, leading into some tightly-mown chipping areas, whilst deep greenside bunkers can further punish those wayward ball-strikers.

I believe that the short length of the course is somewhat deceiving. You have to account for that higher volume of par 3s, three of which are very short at sub-160-yards.

There are two very lengthy par 5s at 630yds+ and the course finishes with a trio of demanding par 4s. That being said, there does look to be plenty of scoring chances to counter that, with the opening par 5 1^st a mere 538 yards and among a shorter collection of par 4s, we have the drivable 313-yard 12^th.

It looks a fun golf course with a good variety of holes and it’s going to be exciting to see how the players manage it this week.

THE WEATHER

Not only will the field have to contend with getting to grips with a new course, but conditions look to be a real problem, over the opening couple of rounds at the very least.

Rain is scheduled to fall in the days building up to the start of the tournament and will continue into the opening three rounds, before making way for more clear, sunny conditions on Sunday.

However, that will be the least of the players’ worries, with strong, gusty winds forecast over the first two rounds, potentially reaching highs of 51mph on Thursday and remaining at a testing 20-30mph for the rest of the week.

KEY STATS

• SG: Approach/Greens-in-Regulation
• Scrambling
• SG: Putting (bentgrass)
• Par 4 Scoring

It’s difficult to know exactly how the course will play this week, especially with those unpredictable conditions on the way. That being said, dealing with a venue which has small, undulating greens that may be tough to hit, I suspect strong iron play will be key.

The surrounds of those challenging putting surfaces may see plenty of action this week, therefore I’d be keen to get high-ranking scramblers on side, and proven bentgrass putters will be best equipped to handle the contoured greens.

Finally, two of the par 5s this week won’t be reachable in two for many in the field. With that, I feel it’s the diverse nature of the par 4s that will be important to unlocking the course.

CORRELATING EVENTS

This was a tough event to correlate for obvious reasons but there are a few courses that I felt could help us out.

I did think the previous host of this event could work, the HimmerLand Golf Resort. Whilst not wholly similar due to its predominantly exposed feel, it’s location, rugged, natural look and prominence of risk/reward opportunities should make those who’ve performed well there feel at home at Lubker.

Two other events I’d consider are the British Masters at The Belfry’s Brabazon Course and the Soudal Open at Rinkven International. Both have some of the same characteristics as this week’s new host and play comparably – from a statistical point of view - to how I’m predicting Lubker will play this week.

THE FIELD

This week’s field is a weak one and at first glance, looks more like the type you’d expect to find for a co-sanctioned event with the Challenge Tour.

There is some star power at the top, with world #48 Nicolai Hojgaard the top-ranked player in the field and along with #85 Thorbjorn Olesen and #92 Romain Langasque, they make up a group of three from inside the world’s top-100.

Just outside that is our defending champion, Rasmus Hojgaard at #101, meaning three of the four highest-ranking players in the field are from our host nation.

Hojgaard is one of five former winners in attendance, joined by Oliver Wilson (2022), Bernd Wiesberger (2021, 2019), David Horsey (2015) and Marc Warren (2014).

The Danish challenge is strengthened by 2024 Challenge Tour winners Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Hamish Brown and Jonathan Goth-Rasmussen; current #16 amateur Jacob Skov Olesen will also tee it up; and in our latest round of “Spot the PGA Tour player”, Nick Watney makes his way to Denmark on an invite.

*You can get all the up to date and live Danish Golf Championship Odds over on betfred.com

SELECTIONS

Market leaders: Nicolai Hojgaard 12/1, Rasmus Hojgaard 12/1, Bernd Wiesberger 16/1, Thorbjorn Olesen 18/1, Tom McKibbin 18/1, Richard Mansell 22/1

A new course and unpredictable weather has led me away from the market leaders this week. Instead, I’m going to start a little further down and as a proven wind player who has strong good recent form along with appealing comp form, Romain Langasque heads my selections.

1.75 pts Romain Langasque each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 30/1

Langasque hit form at the end of March with a 5^th-place finish in the Indian Open and he has continued to perform well since. He’s recorded three top-10 finishes over his last nine starts, going closest when 2^nd in the Soudal Open and just two starts ago he was excellent against an elite field in the Scottish Open, finishing 3^rd.

He started slowly last week, shooting 1-over to sit 116^th after round one but thanks to excellent middle rounds of 65 and 68, he went into the final round inside the top-25, before eventually finishing 38^th.

The Frenchman is gaining strokes across all areas this season. He has been particularly strong on the greens and in approach recently, ranking 10^th and 26^th over his last 50 rounds in each of those respective areas.

Langasque has some great form in Denmark, finishing 3^rd at HimmerLand in 2019. His runner-up finish at Rinkven International earlier this year is another encouraging piece of form and possessing two 8^th-place finishes on the Brabazon Course at The Belfry, there’s enough to suggest he should like what he finds at the Lubker Resort.

1 pt Daniel Brown each way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 50/1

Daniel Brown showcased his ability to perform in difficult, windy conditions at The Open last month and displaying further positive signs in Czechia last week, despite his missed cut, he can be among the main contenders in Denmark.

Brown’s best finish of the year came in the SDC Championship in South Africa back in March, where he finished 4^th. He picked up another top-25 the following week but seriously lost his form thereafter, missing seven of his last eight cuts entering The Open Championship.

He did show some promise when 61^st in the Scottish Open the week preceding his trip to Royal Troon, but his 10^th-place finish there – an event in which he led after round one and sat 2^nd at the end of Saturday – came as a big surprise.

Though missing the cut last week, he only did so by one after opening with a 3-under 69. He was comfortably on to make the cut after getting to -5 thru seven holes on Friday, but due to a couple of unfortunate double bogeys around the turn, he saw himself slip down the leaderboard and couldn’t save the situation despite two late birdies. Still, barring two holes it was a good performance and one which does little to deter me from taking him this week.

Brown’s approach play and putting have been the keys to his improved performances lately, and with positives to be taken from his 17^th-place finish on debut in this event last year, he made a lot of sense.

1 pt Nacho Elvira each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 60/1

Nacho Elvira is playing some of the best golf of his career in 2024 and looks a big price to contend this week considering the lack of depth in the field.

Elvira doubled his DPWT-win tally at the Soudal Open back in May, a result that came just four starts after he finished runner-up to Darius Van Driel in the Kenya Open.

Excluding a 7^th-place finish in the Scandinavian Mixed, his form had regressed since that victory. Although, the month off looks to have done him good, as he returned to finish 28^th last week, firing four straight rounds under par.

The Spaniard has shone in two areas of importance this week, ranking 7^th in approach and scrambling this season. Indeed, this is currently ranking as his best year with the irons since 2017.

Elvira’s win in the Soudal Open earlier this year suggests that this course may suit, whilst a runner-up finish in last year’s Made in HimmerLand should give him some positive vibes as he returns to the country this week.

1 pt Ross Fisher each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 66/1

Ross Fisher is enjoying his most consistent run of form for a number of years and with his putter showing signs of improvement, this excellent ball-striker can end his 10-year wait for a victory.

Fisher never threatened at all in the early part of the year, missing five of his first nine cuts and recording just one finish inside the top-50. However, it’s been a different story since a 48^th-place finish in the China Open.

He’s missed just one cut over his last six starts and in the other five, he hasn’t finished outside the top-25. His best finish came when he was 9^th in the BMW International Open two starts ago and he arrives in Denmark having finishing 12^th in the Czech Masters, where he had every chance entering the final round just two behind but struggled to get anything going.

The Englishman ranks 5^th in this field tee-to-green over those starts. During this time, he’s been especially impressive in approach, ranking 3^rd and has been hitting plenty of greens all year, ranking 12^th in greens-in-regulation.

The putter is always a concern with him, but he was good over the first three rounds last week and I’m hoping he can put a poor final round on the greens to the back of his mind here.

Fisher hasn’t won since taking the Tshwane Open in 2014. However, he’s shown plenty of promise in Denmark over recent years, finishing 8^th at HimmerLand in 2021 and 2023, and with a 13^th-place finish at Rinkven rating as one of his better performances of 2024, this looks like a good spot for him to end that long winless run.

1 pt Simon Forsstrom each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 150/1

I’m going to finish with a couple of Swede’s at long odds, who’ve been showing some positive signs in their most recent starts, starting with Simon Forsstrom.

Forsstrom’s results have been littered with letters this year but when he has made the weekend, he’s generally played well, recording top-30 finishes in the Indian Open, Singapore Classic and Qatar Masters. He hit that area of the leaderboard for the fourth time last week, finishing 28^th in the Czech Masters.

That result came after he opened with a 72 to sit outside the top-100 after round one. Though he shot up the leaderboard over the following three rounds, firing three straight scores in the 60s.

His result there was engineered by quality with his irons and with the short-game, ranking top-25 across each area and if he can maintain that he’d have the skillset to handle this test.

It’s no surprise to find that Forsstrom regularly plays well when returning to the Nordic countries, possessing runner-up finishes here in Denmark and in Finland on the Challenge Tour. With his breakthrough DPWT win coming in the Soudal Open last year, he has a high-class piece of correlating form to boot and in a weak field, he looks a great price to feature near the top of the leaderboard.

1 pt Jens Dantorp each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 150/1

Jens Dantorp is another player who has performed well in the Soudal Open and currently enjoying his best run of 2024, he too looks a large price to get in the mix in Aarhus.

Dantorp failed to record a single top-25 over his first 12 starts this year, but that hasn’t been the case over his last six starts, as he’s twice hit the top-10. He first finished 7^th in the Scandinavian Mixed and three starts ago, he was 6^th in the BMW International Open.

He owes a lot to his approach play for that result in Germany, as he ranked 5^th that week and this has been a theme of recent performances, ranking 10^th in this field over his last four starts. Whilst we can find further positives in his putting, for which he ranks 27^th on tour this season.

Dantorp is a strong wind player, recording several top-5s in Scotland and having finished runner-up to Forsstrom in last year’s Soudal Open, he can capitalise on his recent form to contend for a first DPWT win in Denmark.

All our latest Golf Odds can be found over on Betfred.com. 

You can find all Jamie's latest Golf Betting Tips over on our dedicated golf Insights hub.