Andrew's Danish Golf Challenge (HPT) Preview

The HotelPlanner Tour is moving north and east, away from potentially unpleasant weather caused by altitude and towards potentially unpleasant weather caused by latitude. Behind us in Catalunya we leave a fascinating event, one which I suspect will be quite predictive of the players who see success for the rest of this season. Like the more ballyhooed PGA Championship, this was a tight affair where as many as 20 players went into the final round with a chance. Local lad Pablo Ereno won in a playoff from pre-event favourite Hamish Brown (who came in for plenty of money after we made our selections,) and both are likely to pick up DPWT cards at the end of the year. Among our picks, Adam Wallin was solid throughout but just couldn’t quite find top gear in the final round, finishing a frustrating single shot out of the places in T6.

The Tournament

So, having left Catalunya, we’ve arrived in Denmark. The Danish Golf Challenge is one of the more nomadic events on the schedule, and this year we’re at the Odense Eventyr course, on the island of Fyn in the centre of the country. Some good news to start with – we’ve been here before – in 2024, making this the first course to hold the event twice and giving us a bit of an indication as to what we’re looking for in a winner. The less good news is the weather, which should be mostly dry but will be cool for golf and will be quite windy. So players with experience in conditions like that will have an advantage. Last year’s event (which I previewed) is of limited use to us in predicting what will happen on this much more orthodox course.

It also plays into the emphasis on accuracy which is apparent from that 2024 leaderboard, where some powerful but less precise stars (Angel Ayora in 31^st and Kristofer Reitan missing the cut) failed to thrive whilst more accurate players like Oliver Lindell and John Parry rode great iron play to T2. The winner, Andreas Halvorsen, was enjoying a career week, and he’s more of a power hitter than his closest competitors, but is an excellent putter and talked throughout the week about how well he was striking his irons. So, on this 7,100-ish yard par-72 I’m looking first and foremost for good iron players, with a focus on those who have shown good form in windy conditions. As with the Soudal Open, my sense is that local players have been well-found by the market, so despite favouring them, I have a range of nationalities in the hunt for perceived value. I certainly wouldn’t turn down a hot putter, should any of my selections be lucky enough to find one.

The Selections

First of those picks is Ryan van Velzen, who has played solidly in two European starts on the HPT (13^th and 21^st) but will, I think, prefer this more rugged challenge to those he faced in Italy and Catalunya. The young South African is far from the most powerful but he’s a very tidy golfer and will see plenty of similarities between this course and those he faces nearer home. It’s a shame he didn’t take part in this back in 2024 but despite that, he comes in with decent form and a chance to move into card-winning position. Twice a winner on the Sunshine Tour, he’s been runner-up three times at DPWT and HPT level and needs a breakthrough European win. This is a great opportunity.

Secondly, a veteran Brit with a penchant for playing in the wind and a great record in Denmark, Matthew Southgate was a straightforward selection here. He’s still a player I think is too good to be at this level for long and, after a couple of poor returns at the DPWT level he grabbed a T21 in Catalunya and will come to a happier hunting ground with renewed confidence. He boast three top tens in the Danish Golf Championship (back when it was the Made In Himmerland) and his Dunhill links record shows his excellence in poor weather and high winds. I expected to see a more defensive price from the bookmakers but am thrilled to have him on our side.

Thirdly and finally, Sebastian Friedrichsen is my idea of the value among the local players.  Aged just 23 he’s already making waves on this tour, with top tens at the PGTI event (fifth) and Italian Challenge (eighth,) notably, the two most accuracy-centric courses he’s yet faced. He’s one of several talented young Danes in the field and, after winning a card at Q-school in 2023, has DPWT-level experience, with his best 2024 results coming at Rinkven and Crans-sur-Sierre, once again showing his love of accuracy-based courses. He comes here full of confidence from some great results, including a recent second on the Nordic Golf League series in Poland, and playing close to home can take a breakthrough win at the next level up. He’s heading back to the DPWT, and weeks like this will determine whether he makes that jump this season or has to wait another year. In either case, I want to be supporting him.

• Ryan van Velzen, 50/1

• Matthew Southgate, 55/1

• Sebastian Friedrichsen, 33/1

All picks are 1pt e/w, 1/4 odds 5 places, Bet365. As ever, better prices might come available as other markets open. Look around.