Out of the Rough: Danish Golf Championship (2026)

After a near month long hiatus, the DP World Tour returns to action for the penultimate event of the ‘Closing Swing’ with this week’s Danish Golf Challenge.

This event, formerly known as the Made in HimmerLand and Made in Denmark, was first played in 2014 and has been ever present on the DP World Tour’s schedule since.

Now, for the third season under the title of Danish Golf Championship, a third course will play host.

The Lübker Golf & Spa Resort hosted in 2024 and the Furesco Golfklub played host a season ago.

This year, the Great Northern in Kerteminde, Funen, Denmark will play host for the very first time.

Thomas Bjorn, Denmark's most successful golfer with 15 DP-World Tour victories, has assumed the role of chairman for this event once more.

From here, the DP World Tour will head to Aberdeenshire, Scotland for the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links to conclude the ‘Closing Swing.’

The Field

With the recent emergence of young Danish golf talent, the field this week is loaded with talent.

The likes of Rasmus Hojgaard, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Thorbjorn Olesen, regulars of the PGA Tour, will return to their homeland to compete this week.

Other notable Danish golfers playing this week include Niklas Norgaard, Jacob Skov Olesen, Jeff Winther, Hamish Brown, Marcus Helligkile, among others.

Other notable golfers teeing it up this week include Eugenio Chacarra, Andy Sullivan, Bernd Wiesberger, Oliver Lindell, Dan Bradbury and Mikael Lindberg.

Marco Penge is the defending champion, although at a different venue, but will not be playing this week. Frederic LaCroix won the 2024 installment, again, at a different venue, and will be playing this week.

The Course

The Great Northern is a modern layout, opened for play in 2017. It is laid out on gentle rolling hills surrounded by scenic Danish farmland in the northeastern most point of Funen, the country's third largest island.

The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and plays as a par-72 at 7,410 yards.

The main feature and line of defense at this golf course is water, as seven artificial lakes were constructed in the course’s creation. Water is obviously a strategic gesture on as many as nine holes this week.

With as much earth was moved to create this lake, a near 130-foot high artificial hill sits on the west side of the golf course. Eight of the holes this week are laid out on or around this man-made hill.

This hill does allow for a change in elevation and therefore ensures that the course plays differently from day-to-day. This is due to the wind affecting play at a higher elevation than the rest of the venue.

Additionally, as this course sits on the northeastern most point of the island, coastal winds will be a factor. 

The fairways featured this week are rather wide and “inviting.” Although described as a parkland-style course, these wide fairways bring a links-like feeling to them, especially with some dramatic elevation changes.

Along with the water however, golfers will have to deal with deep fairway-lining bunkers.

From there, golfers will play their approach shots onto decently sized greens that demand precise approach shots. 

Many of the greens this week are guarded by water which waits to gobble-up any errant approach shot. This includes both the man-made lakes, streams and wooden levees. 

The par-three ninth features a famous peninsula target framed by the clubhouse and the par-five 18th features an island green.

In all, this course invited golfers to go-for-it off the tee but they best come with an accurate approach game to avoid the multitude of hazards that are waiting on every shot.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, Thursday and Friday currently call for just a five-percent chance of precipitation. Saturday and Sunday are calling for a ten-percent chance. Temperatures are set for 74-degrees on Thursday before peaking at 78-degrees on Friday. From there, temperatures will drop to 75-degrees on Saturday and finish the week at 70-degrees on Sunday. Winds will come out of the south for Thursday and Friday at 12 miles-per-hour. From there, they will switch to 14 miles-per-hour out of the west. 

Key Stats

• Stokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Average Driving Distance

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT)

• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

• Scrambling

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)

• Par-Five Average Scoring

Betting Card

Oliver Lindell (+2000)

We’re still waiting on the elusive victory for Lindell this season and I have a feeling this could finally be the week. He last played the Genesis Scottish Open where he placed 36th. Prior to that he placed 13th at the BMW International Open, sixth at the DS Automobiles 83° Open d'Italia and second at the KLM Open. He is currently eighth on Tour in SG: ATG, 14th in par-five average scoring, 17th in SG: APP, 36th in scrambling, 49th in SG: PUTT, 77th in SG: OTT and 108th in average driving distance. 

Mikael Lindberg (+3300)

Lindberg is currently third on Tour in par-five average scoring, fifth in SG: OTT, seventh in average driving distance, 56th in SG: PUTT, 75th in scrambling, 99th in SG: ATG and 106th in SG: APP. The recent form for Lindberg isn’t the best as he placed 44th at the Genesis Scottish Open, missed the cut at the DS Automobiles 83° Open d'Italia, placed 60th at the KLM Open and missed the cut at the Austrian Alpine Open. However, prior to that stretch he placed 17th at the Soudal Open, won the Turkish Airlines Open and placed third at the Volvo China Open.

Calum Hill (+4000)

This was a great number on a guy of this caliber in this field in my opinion. He comes into this week last playing the Genesis Scottish Open where he placed 44th. He also placed 30th at the BMW International Open, 19th at the DS Automobiles 83° Open d'Italia, 14th at the KLM Open and 17th at the Austrian Alpine Open. Hill has a victory a season ago and already has two back-to-back runner-up finishes earlier this season at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship and Qatar Masters. Hill is currently fourth on Tour in SG: PUTT, seventh in par-five average scoring, 46th in average driving distance, 52nd in scrambling, 63rd in SG: ATG, 85th in SG: APP and 121st in SG: OTT. 

Oihan Guillamoundeguy (+7500)

A massive number for a guy I knew I was going to bet this week. He is currently 27th on Tour in SG: OTT, 44th in SG: ATG, 45th in par-five average scoring, 52nd in average driving distance, 81st in SG: APP, 85th in scrambling and 91st in SG: PUTT. He last played the ISCO Championship where he placed 39th. Prior to that he placed fourth at the BMW International Open and 25th at the DS Automobiles 83° Open d'Italia.

Joe Dean (+8000)

Dean is in some great form coming into this week and has a big number next to his name. We can throw out the missed the cut at The Open Championship and he placed ninth in his start prior at the BMW International Open. He did miss the cut at the DS Automobiles 83° Open d'Italia but was third at the KLM Open and 12th at the Austrian Alpine Open. He is currently 18th on Tour in SG: PUTT, 30th in scrambling, 42nd in average driving distance, 47th in SG: ATG, 56th in SG: OTT, 75th in par-five average scoring and 122nd in SG: APP.