Marco Penge (-7) is the first standout leader of the Danish Golf Championship. The English golfer has delivered a magnificent card of 64 strokes, without bogeys, with five birdies and an eagle. It’s a wake-up call. He’s put on the long game to remind Luke Donald that he’s here and that the race to be in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage is not over. If there’s still room for the 12th spot in Europe (it seems there are eleven secured), I’m going to fight for it… That’s the message.
Beyond the great season he’s having, with a victory and a serious contender to earn the PGA Tour card, the British golfer has a very Bethpage-like profile. He’s a fabulous hitter and is among the top 15 putters on the DP World Tour this year. That’s Ryder DNA. There’s still a long way to go to definitively know who qualifies and who else Donald will choose, but what’s clear is that Penge hasn’t thrown in the towel.
The Englishman has a two-stroke lead over Marc Warren (-5), who is in a race against time to secure DP World Tour rights for next year, and three over Norwegian Mats Ege (-4). The fourth place is already four strokes behind Penge with players like Daniel Young (-3), who is in vogue after his victory on the HotelPlanner Tour.
Just a step below is Rafa Cabrera Bello (-2). The Canary Islander has regained the good habit of scoring below 70 strokes. He did it at least once in each tournament he played between April and early July, but had missed the mark in his last three appearances: ISCO Championship, Barracuda Championship, and Nexo Championship. Sorted.
In a way, with this round, which included five birdies, again more the result of great shots than big putts, he continues the magnificent 70 he delivered in the last round of the Nexo, under very demanding conditions. Rafa continues to fight tooth and nail to keep his card and knows that every stroke counts. For now, after the morning session, he’s in the top 10. The only downside of his round is that he made a bogey on one of the two par 4s that can be reached in one (hole 8) and on a par 5. In other words, the good news is that he has room to fly even lower.
On the way to that same two under par as Rafa was Madrid’s Pablo Ereño (PAR). The player who finished fifth in the European team event played on this same course (Fureso Golf Klub) in 2021 has delivered another very good round of golf, only overshadowed at the end by a double bogey on the 17th. He paid a high price for a bad start. Despite everything, he has once again demonstrated that he has a lot of birdies. He made five, no less, once again relying on his main weapon: the putter. He sank three birdies from over six metres.
Another of the men still wanting to show Donald he can have a place on the team, Matt Wallace (PAR) hasn’t had a bad start, although far from the dazzling rounds he needs to earn a spot in this long final sprint. Another candidate for victory this week, local Rasmus Neergaard Petersen (-2) has started notably, a bit better than his compatriot and another name to watch this week: Thorbjorn Olesen (-1).
