After an exciting finish in the Czech Republic last week it is off to one of the best events on the European Tour this week when the best in Europe head to Scandinavia for the Made in Denmark tournament.
The reason this tournament is so good is because of the crowds with nearly everybody who attends sitting around the 16th green and creating an atmosphere totally unique in golf. All the players enjoy it so we should get a good week of golf.
Recent Winners
2015 – David Horsey
2014 – Marc Warren
The Course
Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort is one of my favourite courses to watch on Tour and that 16th hole is one of the reasons why. At its longest it only plays to 128 yards but it is often set up to play much shorter than that to create as much drama and intrigue as possible to satisfy the often 3000 deep crowd that surrounds it.
The course as a whole is a par 71 which only measures 6,851 and doesn’t always play that long. The fairways aren’t the widest here and they are anything but flat but it is important that they are found this week as the weather leading up to the tournament hasn’t been the greatest so the rough is likely to be quite dense.
The greens aren’t the easiest to putt on with all the slopes and undulations so we’re looking for a good ball striker who can shape his iron shots and who can read greens well to prevail this week. Accuracy over length is very much the order of the day.
The Field
Quite a decent little field has been put together here. It has been helped by those who thought they might need a big week to qualify for the Ryder Cup or those who need one to stand out in the hunt for a wildcard being tempted in but nevertheless some big names are here.
We have major champions in the likes of Martin Kaymer and Paul Lawrie while two men definitely lining up for Europe next month are also here in Matthew Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan. Thomas Pieters, Shane Lowry, Soren Kjeldsen and Ross Fisher will all be hoping to catch the eye of Darren Clarke ahead of him naming his wildcards.
Market Leaders
Martin Kaymer begins the week as an 11/1 favourite. For a man who hasn’t won in Europe since 2011 you could argue that looks a little short no matter how well he needs to go in order to catch Darren Clarke’s eye. He is the stand out name in the field however.
Thomas Pieters narrowly missed out on defending his Czech Masters title last week and he is another looking for a big week to sneak into that European Ryder Cup team. He is a point bigger than Kaymer at 12/1 but this might not be his track.
Matthew Fitzpatrick is a 14/1 third favourite. Credit to him for teeing it up despite not needing to in terms of making the Ryder Cup team. That was clearly a big thing for him and anyone who reads his twitter feed will acknowledge that so how focused he’ll be on the week remains to be seen.
Soren Kjeldsen would love to win his home tournament and push forward an already solid claim for a Ryder Cup pick. He is 16/1 to win here and only a fool would write him off despite the impressive names on show here. Whether that price is plenty short enough is up for debate.
Andy Sullivan will be on Darren Clarke’s side now and he is 20/1 to celebrate that with a victory in Denmark this week. Sullivan’s form has been improving over the last couple of months and a confidence boost to take to Hazeltine with him would be just the ticket.
Outside those five named it is 25/1 the field in what looks a pretty competitive market at the head of affairs.
Main Bets
I’ll go with a couple of main bets this week and a couple of outsiders and my first main bet is on Andy Sullivan. I probably wouldn’t have taken the Englishman if he needed some Ryder Cup points as he might just have played for them but now that he has qualified I’m prepared to take him.
Sullivan was disappointing in the Czech Republic last week but there was plenty of other things on his mind that won’t be on his mind this week and with the confidence boost making the Ryder Cup team will give him I’m expecting to see the Sullivan that was fifth in France, sixth in Scotland and just outside the top 10 in The Open last month.
Bradley Dredge has two top 10 finishes around here and I’m not surprised about that given that he is a solid hitter of the golf ball and very efficient when the wind blows and I’m expecting another decent run from him here too.
The Welshman has had three top 10 finishes on the European Tour this year including in Qatar and Ireland where the fields were a lot stronger than this. I would say this has been the best form he has shown heading into Denmark and having been in the top 10 on both previous starts here that has every chance of turning into another big tilt this week.
Outsiders
I’m always a sucker for a home bet in these sort of events and I’ve been waiting for the chance to back Anders Hansen in a tournament ever since he announced he was coming back on Tour and this looks like the ideal week.
This track should really suit the man who is monotonously straight off the tee and into the greens and on a track I’m sure he’s played plenty of times the greens shouldn’t be too bad for him either. At his best Hansen is a very good putter anyway and when he’s in contention he doesn’t usually wilt. Through 36 holes of his first two comeback events Hansen was bang there and having blown the cobwebs away again last week I’ll take a chance on him this week.
My final pick is another man who has shown some form in recent weeks in Mark Foster. Foster has finished in the top 20 in three of his last four tournaments including in the Czech Republic last week. He has been impressive off the tee in that time and on the greens so if he can find the greens in the right number he should run well once again.
Tips
Back A.Sullivan to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 21.00 with Ladbrokes (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
PLACED – Back B.Dredge to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Coral (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back A.Hansen to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Skybet (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back M.Foster to win Made in Denmark (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 201.00 with Boylesports (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
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Unlucky with Dredge Kev. Looked like he had it….Pieters on fire!