For the second week in succession, the DP World Tour visits a new resort course which almost nobody in the field has played before. Thankfully, this is the final switch-up of the season, every venue hereafter well known. Of those we have already left or are set to leave – Steyn City, Marco Simone and Albatross among them – surely none will be missed more than HimmerLand, which had staged the Made in Denmark on eight occasions since 2014 and helped it develop an identity many tournaments would envy.
Still, Lübker Golf Resort has definite benefits given its proximity to Aarhus, the second-biggest city in Denmark, and has in the past been labelled the country's best course by Thomas Bjorn. Whisper it, but this could be an upgrade: it is certainly nice to look at and providing fans support it in the same way they did the previous venue, we'll be in for a cracker.
At 7,026 yards, Lübker's Sky and Sand nines combine for something not much longer than HimmerLand, which was one of the most suitable courses on the circuit for shorter hitters. One difference here is that there are four par-fives, rather than two, and five par-threes, meaning just nine par-fours and a rare configuration. The mix of yardages is also extreme: one par-three is 243 yards; one par-four is 313; there are two par-fives of more than 630 yards, and the closing stretch features three long and difficult par-fours in succession.
The obvious issue with McKibbin is that he was beaten before he'd played a dozen holes last week, but it's no exaggeration to say that he missed good birdie chances at seven of the first nine. He didn't hit a bad shot until the 10th, ran up a double-bogey there after another missed putt and ranked dead last in putting come the end of a round which he'll hopefully have been able to laugh off.
Friday's 68, despite more missed opportunities, was more like it and his performance reminded me of Justin Thomas in the Travelers during that strange summer of 2020, when by the end of his doomed 36 holes, he was cackling at the absurdity of the sport. The following week, selected again on these pages, he went 1/25 in-play but lost a play-off at Muirfield Village. No cackling allowed.
The reason for not siding with McKibbin is the course. I won't have been the only one to take note of Oliver Wilson telling Richie Ramsay this place is 'right up your street' and have subsequently had it confirmed as being short, tight, with thick rough and small, sloping greens. One caddie told me it was 'the opposite of last week', which I will admit hadn't been my first impression. Plans have had to change.
Olesen though stays in the staking plan, because he's been hinting at something big for a few months now, ever since the Masters in fact. Now, back on home soil and playing a weak DP World Tour event for the first time since winning the Ras al Khaimah Championship, he can show that his game really is in good enough shape.
Lately, he's played well except for two rounds of golf, the first in Detroit and the second at the Wyndham. These though were two rare off-days for Olesen's putter, typically a strength, and when it's fired he's been competitive in far better fields than this. His iron play, which could be decisive here, looks as good as ever and the putter won't take long to come back around.
The worry might be that this place is tight but that should mean clubbing down plenty and Olesen has won at places like Gardagolf and The Belfry, which demand a level of accuracy. The same is somewhat true of the course he won at in Turkey and with an Open top-10 plus a win in the Dunhill Links confirming his ability to cope with the forecast wind, he's arguably the man to beat.
Certainly, as a drifting 20/1 shot, or 18/1 generally with more places, he rates value having won three times on the DP World Tour since his return to it. Olesen has class, winning form in abundance, and perhaps now the chance to emulate Rasmus Hojgaard and keep the trophy on home soil (OK, he lives in England so this is a bit of a stretch).
Earlier this year I'd been very keen to put up JORGE CAMPILLO for the Soudal Open, only for the Spaniard to withdraw to focus on his rookie PGA Tour campaign and leave the way clear for his compatriot Elvira to win that event in Belgium.
Campillo finished the regular season ranked 134th in FedEx Cup points and therefore facing a bit of a battle to earn another crack should he attempt to during the FedEx Fall or whatever they call it, but to do so securely he'll need to bag one more big cheque in Europe while he waits for all that to begin.
Skipping the Czech Masters made sense and he should love this course if it does play as anticipated and reward straighter drivers. That's something we don't often see but Campillo has become quite good at taking such opportunities late in his career, winning in Kenya last spring, and in Morocco and Qatar during the respective 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Sullivan is winless in four years now but four top-fives so far in 2024 shows how close he's been at times, and the most recent of them came just two weeks ago in a strong Asian Tour event won by Peter Uihlein. Aesthetically, Foxhills wouldn't be a million miles from this, either.
Popular last week on the back of his performance there, the course in Prague was in the end against him yet despite that, Sullivan entered the final round three off the lead. Though never able to mount a challenge, he paid heavy price for one bad mistake with a short-iron, responded brilliantly with an eagle, and looks the type of player who will soon realise this course is much better for him.
Dean's ascent has been one of the stories of the season as three top-five finishes have helped secure full playing rights for 2025, having started the year with a lowly Q-School category after a strong finish in Spain last November secured one of the final few cards on offer.
His circuitous route to this level makes him easy to underestimate but this former winner of the English Amateur is clearly good enough to go on and win, which he came so close to doing when second in Kenya, fifth in Belgium, and then losing out in a play-off in the Netherlands.
The latter is encouraging as far as handling a breeze goes and so is his display in the Open, where he was fourth after round one, struggled on Friday, but rebounded with a solid weekend to finish 25th. It was the second time in as many appearances that he'd made the weekend in the event.
I generally don't like to side with players who've shown their hand, not at what are now shorter odds, but having been slow to acknowledge some career-best ball-striking from a player who has always had talent, I don't want to make a second mistake and miss the boat.
Saddier has gained more than a stroke per round with his approaches in seven of his last nine events and close to that in another, two of these coming on the PGA Tour. It's no exaggeration to say this makes him just about the best iron player on the circuit at the moment, perhaps just behind Wiesberger.
Unlike Wiesberger he has started to putt better, hence making it count with some big cheques lately, and having secured his card for 2025 with third place on Sunday, where he played in the final group alongside his more powerful compatriot, he should be raring to go by the time he tees off for the first round at a likely much more suitable course.
Saddier has been runner-up in Denmark before and will be one of those glad to get away from HimmerLand, which he never quite figured out. He can play in the wind and having got married just a few weeks ago, life is good, so perhaps he can prove an obvious winner at 50/1 or so (standout 66/1 with BoyleSports at the time of writing).
There's a sentence you can only really use in this maddeningly wonderful sport.
Posted at 0900 BST on 20/08/24
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