The Danish Golf Championship has turned into a duel between Denmark, playing at home, and France. Five of the top six are from these nationalities and in the top 10 we have no less than seven. In between, Andrew Wilson, Sam Jones and Kristoffer Reitan will try to defy the statistics.
Lucas Bjerregaard (-12) is the sole leader of the tournament. The Danish player has signed 66 strokes on the third day, a much more peaceful day of golf than the previous rounds. The wind has blown, but there has been no gale and it has not rained. This, coupled with receptive greens, has meant that today many low rounds have been seen. In fact, half of the players have dropped below 70 strokes and only 21 have lost their duel with the course.
In these circumstances, the rounds of 71 strokes by Manuel Quirós (+1) and 73 by Rafa Cabrera Bello (+2) have been more than insufficient and, obviously, put them down in the ranking. They will need a great Sunday to give themselves a chance to add a good booty at the Lubker Golf Resort.
Let’s go back to the head of the tournament. Bjerregaard, who believe it or not, has not yet won on the DP World Tour, has a two-stroke lead over Romain Langasque (-10), a fierce rival for a final day, and three over the big star of the tournament or, at least, the player who is arousing the most excitement in his land. This is Jacob Skov Olesen (-9), winner of the British Amateur, a golfer who still maintains his amateur status, and who has earned the right to fight tomorrow for a victory on the European Circuit. Today he made 66 strokes. He has made two bogeys in 54 holes today, a scandalous figure in view of the playing conditions, even though he has been in the most favoured shift.
Olesen is looking for the fourth amateur victory in the history of the European circuit, after Pablo Martín Benavides in 2007, Danny Lee and Shane Lowry in 2009. It would be the second amateur triumph in the major circuits, after the one harvested earlier this year by Nick Dunlap at the American Express.
Four strokes behind Bjerregaard are Andrew Wilson, Frederic Lacroix and John Axelsen with eight under par. It is worth highlighting the latter. Danish. He finished his round yesterday with the following sequence: bogey, bogey, bogey and double bogey. He went from co-leading the tournament with -5 to placing at par in a flash. Much merit his 64 today, the best round of the day along with the tireless Soren Kjeldsen, to get into the fight to win the tournament.
