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They say timing is everything and that can surely be the only reason the field for the fourth edition of the Made In Denmark is once again a little lacking when it comes to depth.

Going head-to-head with the first FedEx Cup event is a thankless task and organisers are at least fortunate that they've a truly world-class headline act as Thomas Pieters returns to defend the title he won so impressively a year ago.

Pieters was essentially set the task of winning this event to earn a Ryder Cup wildcard and the rest, as 'they' have also been known to say, is history. Not only did Pieters complete the job here at Himmerland, but he went on to be the top points scorer even if his Ryder Cup debut ultimately ended in defeat.

With the threat to his defence headed by a pair of Danes who are bound to feel the pressure of these wonderful crowds, Pieters' chance is smack-you-in-the-face obvious and while he's been winless in 2017, his best form remains clear of anything this lot have produced. There are worse 9/1 shots, that's for sure.

Defending a title is not easy - just ask Rory McIlroy, who is yet to do it - but even this is a minor negative at best. The one time Pieters tried, he lost by a shot and only because Paul Peterson made a 20-foot birdie on the final hole. This superbly cool character won't be put off by the odd extra interview nor, I expect, any pressure which is associated with being favourite.

Still, Pieters isn't yet on the short list of names I really want to be backing at this sort of price and he was poor at the PGA Championship last time, so Benjamin Hebert gets the headline vote at an altogether more generous 66/1.

This 30-year-old is finally showing that he's capable of establishing himself at this level, having previously looked like he might fall into that gap between Challenge and European Tour. He's won six times on the former and remains a maiden here, but he's keeping his card comfortably and, relatively speaking, knocking on the door.

Perhaps the knocks will get louder in Denmark, where he's twice been inside the top 15 from as many visits and closed 68-66 last year, not dissimilar to the way in which Pieters signed off in 2015 before returning to put four rounds together.

Hebert is among the most accurate operators on the European Tour and while Pieters' victory might lead you towards longer, more aggressive players, those in behind suggest that's a trap which should be avoided. He won because he's brilliant, not because he was especially suited to the course.

The likes of Bradley Dredge, David Lipsky, Adrian Otaegui, Soren Kjeldsen, Jaco Van Zyl and Joakim Lagergren all confirm that this is more about staying away from the kind of trouble which cost the latter all hope on the 72nd hole a year ago and Hebert is firmly in that mould.

It's also notable that Van Zyl and Lagergren were both involved in a play-off for the Qatar Masters earlier this year, and those leaderboards are worth studying if you're looking for Himmerland clues. Marc Warren, who won the inaugural edition of this event, boasts a fine record in Qatar and the same goes for most of those to have gone well here in Denmark.

Along with events like the Dunhill Links, where being comfortable in the wind is vital, that's the sort of direction I want to be heading in with selections and that's very much the basis of the case for Hebert. He's been inside the top-five at the Dunhill, and his last two visits to Qatar have resulted in shares of 10th and 20th, performances powered by accuracy from the tee.

With form under links conditions in Ireland, a good effort in Sweden's Nordea Masters and a win in Norway on the Challenge Tour, this just looks an ideal test for Hebert, who has ranked fifth and 14th for greens in regulation here to show that he knows his way around the course.

In terms of recent form, he produced a top-10 finish behind Jon Rahm in a very strong renewal of the Irish Open, before showing flashes of his best under pressure in Scotland one week later. His only subsequent start came in the European Open, where those with a little more power were certainly favoured, and he did just fine to again make the weekend.

Back under conditions which suit him more than most and in a field which is made up of a heck of a lot of out-of-form or just not European Tour standard golfers, he looks a knocking each-way bet at anything 50/1 and upwards.

I do expect we'll see a good champion here, as it takes a player in control of their game and their emotions to deal with some of the biggest crowds of the season. All three winners at Himmerland boast a touch of class and two of them, Warren and Pieters, arrived in superb form.

Unfortunately, none of the proven winners in this year's renewal appeal for various reasons - the pressure on Kjeldsen, who has flown in from a disappointing Sunday in the US; the form of Martin Kaymer, who is winless since 2014 - so I'm hoping we might see a classy maiden break through.

Top of the list in terms of likelihood is Paul Dunne, who is just about a big enough price at 33s.

The young Irishman clearly has the type of game for this, having burst on the scene at the Open Championship and also figured at the Dunhill Links later that year, before returning in 2016 to produce another big performance in Scotland.

He played really well here in Denmark, too, finishing tied 10th thanks to a controlled performance. Dunne ranked fifth for greens and second for scrambling but just wasn't able to make enough birdies to get close to Pieters, with conditions perhaps not quite as demanding as he needed them to be.

One year on, he's added an eye-catching T21 in Qatar to further boost his profile for this event while second in Morocco and 13th in France are two performances which underline that a breakthrough probably isn't all that far away. It may well be that he capitalises on the biggest names in European golf being over in the US for the time being.

Dunne was in-play favourite during the Paul Lawrie Match Play last week as he made 11 birdies across the first two rounds and stormed into the weekend. Then came a match he should've won, but Dunne at least went down fighting, canning a 35-foot bogey putt against Alejandro Canizares having called a penalty on himself in their play-off.

So fine are the margins that he might've been that penalty away from a breakthrough but the good news is he's fresh enough, certainly playing well enough, and now gets a rare opportunity to return to a course he not only knows, but has performed well on.

As one of the best putters on the circuit whose accurate game is suited to the challenge set by Himmerland, this might be the best chance Dunne has had so far in his fledgling career.

Before reminding myself of his poor record in the event, I was expecting to put up Andrew Johnston given that he should love the crowds, is theoretically well-suited to the type of golf required and has played well this summer. However, combine a shoulder injury which forced his withdrawal from the PGA Championship and five bad rounds from six here and it's easy enough to leave him out.

Rikard Karlberg and Richard Sterne rate fairly obvious options, while Aaron Rai has the quality to bring his Challenge Tour dominance to this level, but in the main players of his profile flirt with contention without going through with it over the weekend.

Instead, I'm drawn to another obvious player but one who remains a three-figure price in Tom Lewis.

The backstory of this talented youngster is pretty well-known, but here's a brief summary: burst on the scene in the Open, won on his third European Tour start as a professional, entered the abyss from which he's yet to fully return.

The win in Portugal was back in 2011 and it's been six hard years for Lewis, who has experimented with different coaches and everything else a player does when they're searching for something they've lost.