One of my favourite events on the European Tour takes place this week as we head to Denmark for the wonderful Made in Denmark event. This is one of the most underrated tournaments in golf with it delivering big crowds on a cracking course.
Thomas Pieters won the title 12 months ago on his way to securing a spot in the Ryder Cup side and he is back to defend his crown in a decent little field.
Recent Winners
2016 – Thomas Pieters
2015 – David Horsey
2014 – Marc Warren
The Course
The Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort in Denmark is the course once again this week. It is a par 71 which only measures 6,851 yards so nobody is out of the game before they tee off around here. The signature hole is the 16th hole which is a tiny par 3 with huge banks around the green where upwards of 3,000 fans can be situated.
The key to scoring around here is hitting the fairways. The protection for this course is the small, undulating greens so going into them from the fairways is always beneficial. If we look at the first three winners they are all decent putters which gives us another clue to the player we are looking for this week.
The Field
Considering the FedEx Cup play-offs begin on the PGA Tour this week a decent little field has been assembled for this tournament. It includes the defending champion Thomas Pieters and the fan favourites Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen.
Popular players Martin Kaymer, Andrew Johnston, Nicolas Colsaerts and Eddie Pepperell also tee it up here, as do a number of Scandinavians in what is near enough their home event alongside the Nordea Masters.
Market Leaders
Thomas Pieters is the favourite to win back-to-back titles here. He can be backed at 9/1 to retain his title and the form he has been in during 2017 that looks fair. He won on a soft track last year but despite that he is the class act in the field and anyone who does not mind taking single figures prices he can’t be dismissed.
Soren Kjeldsen ran well in America last week and he is the 14/1 favourite to win his home event. He has all the tools to win this week but a long flight back from America could take its toll. That is the only thing that puts me off backing him in truth.
Thorbjorn Olesen is next in the betting at 18/1. The fear with him is that he is a little too erratic off the tee although we saw in the first round of the USPGA recently that he is hitting the ball well so he shouldn’t necessarily be ruled out off the back of that.
Martin Kaymer is a couple of points bigger than Olesen although he arrives here in mixed form. At his best he could lead this lot a merry dance but there have been few signs that he is anywhere near that form in recent times and he looks a little on the short side at 18/1.
I backed Bradley Dredge for this tournament last year and got a run for my money but no return but I’m not convinced he arrives here in the same form this time around as he did last time. He could be worth a punt at 25/1 but I have to admit I prefer others this week.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Main Bets
I’m going with a couple of main bets this week with the characteristics that I am looking for being that they are good in the wind, good putters and who can get it done around the greens. That brings me to these two.
Paul Dunne ticks all the profile boxes for this tournament. In fairness I probably wouldn’t touch 28/1 in a better field but I think the price is very much respective of his chances this week so I am happy to indulge here. Dunne is one of the better putters on the tour and his high up in the scrambling statistics. He showed in Qatar and Morocco this year how adept he is in the wind, not that he needed to given we saw it in The Open previously. Dunne ran well last week but he should go even better here and he is my first main bet.
Renato Paratore is another player who I like the profile of this week. He is competent in the wind as we saw when he landed his first European Tour title in Sweden earlier in the year. That was one of the most exposed courses the Tour has visited so that bodes well. He is also a very solid player on the greens and if he drives it well he will clear much of the danger from tee to green. 50/1 is a big price on a man who has already won this year.
Outsiders
Three others catch my eye at the bigger prices. Joakim Lagergren was in my staking plan last year and I just can’t ignore him here this year either. He finished fifth here last year and has back to back fourth placed finishes in the Dunhill Links which highlights that he can perform in the wind. If he needed to show that again he did so when losing out in a play-off in Qatar earlier in the year. At 66/1 he is worth a go here.
Looking through the statistics and the recent form Chris Paisley jumps off the page and at 125/1 I am certainly willing to back him to go well here. He showed in the Middle East that he can perform at a better level than this and we saw him go strongly at the Matchplay last week. If he hits here like he hit it there is could be a big price.
I remain convinced that Jbe Kruger is going to go deep again this year. I took him in Germany earlier in the year when he finished runner up after making a Horlicks of the final hole and the way he hits fairways and greens he should be close here too. His putting is taking on chance but at 150/1 we can afford to pay to see if this wind specialist can hole a few to get into contention.
Tips
Back P.Dunne to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with 888sport (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
VOID – Back R.Paratore to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Betbright (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
J.Lagergren to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Ladbrokes (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
PLACED – Back C.Paisley to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Unibet (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back J.Kruger to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017
