Niall Lyons shares his betting tips for Made in Himmerland.
Made in Himmerland
Between Nordic, Challenge and DPWT events we have plenty of data to get our teeth into ahead of this years Made In Himmerland event in Denmark. With various tees the course can vary in yardage but there is no doubt it remains one of the shorter tracks on the tour which main defence comes in the form of weather.
The wind looks set to be calm enough on the first two days picking up each afternoon slightly before gaining momentum on Saturday afternoon which looks set to be the trickiest conditions of the week. Tall fescue awaits errant drives and approaches here but generally speaking this event has been won and lost on or around the greens.
It'll be necessary to scramble well and those with elite approach play may hold the edge with less work to do around the greens. Small greens inevitably means scrambling plays a fair part but with conditions look set to be decent the opening few days I'd expect low scores.
Robert Macintyre at 28/1 (Eight Places)
Robert MacIntyre comes here off the back of a missed cut in the mountains where an uncharacteristic poor week with the putter cost him any chance of shooting good enough scores to contend. At Himmerland he has contended though almost landing his maiden victory here back in 2019 when narrowly edged out by Wiesberger in a thrilling back nine battle.
The Scot has since won a low grade event on tour but hasn't quite hit the heights expected of him, despite some really good efforts in big events. Two top tens in Open Championships is a great sign for this event with double winner Bernd Wiesberger having bagged some great results on links courses.
I don't expect MacIntyre to follow up Crans with another poor effort on the greens and I feel this track suits him a lot. His second jaunt here last year resulted in a 37th placed finish but that can be forgiven as it was the week after the USPGA at Kiawah Island. If this event was placed on a different week that year we could be seeing two serious results from one of the better talents in the field. I'd make him favourite here.
2pts each-way R.MacIntyre 28/1 (1/5 8)
Marcel Schneider at 50/1 (Eight Places)
Marcel Schneider has enjoyed a successful year on the DPWT and that is largely down to a significant improvement in his short game. Around and on the greens his stats have improved a lot and since the beginning of May he has really took off. In his last 13 events he has posted five top 10 finishes and a further three top 20s. Two of his missed cuts during that period have been in much stronger fields in the US Open and the Barbasol.
The German looks a real talent and he continued on his merry way last week in Crans finishing 7th. He has no real weakness and is a much improved golfer since playing here in previous years. I thought 33/1 was a fair mark for him this week so anything bigger makes appeal.
1.25pt each-way M.Schneider 50/1 (1/5 8)
Justin Harding at 35/1 (Eight Places)
Justin Harding is an interesting sort this week given his tendancy to play well in these conditions. A win in Qatar back in 2019 and 3rd place at Close House a year later shows his credentials on a test such as this. Lately he has travelled to Asia in an attempt to arrest the slide in the world rankings due to his LIV participation. Forgetting about that conversation as a whole his performances have been impressive. 10th in London was followed by 8th in Portland and 19th in Bedminster.
This adds to his couple of top five efforts posted earlier in the year on the DPWT so form wise he surely enters the equation. He arrived last year in decent form also and missed the cut which is a slight worry but I believe he has to be a threat here given he has beat better fields than what is presented this week. A repeat of those LIV efforts in June and July would see him go very close here and for that reason I think he's worth supporting at 35/1.
1.25pts each-way J.Harding 35/1 (1/5 8)
Marcel Siem at 150/1 (Seven Places)
John Catlin and Alexander Bjork around the 33/1-40/1 mark are another two worthy of consideration. Catlin has form at the Diamond track in Austria which looks a solid correlation in course form to Himmerland. He looks suited to playing these fiddly tracks also.
The Swede has a superb short game and enters the equation on that alone. We can't back them all though and I'm forced into leaving them both out simply because the 150/1 about Marcel Siem looks a much better bet. The German was runner up on links in the Lawrie Matchplay back in 2017 and posted a top 20 at the Open at St George's last year.
Other solid links performances in the Scottish and Dunhill Links are noted and this veteran may just have the game to compete here this week. He produced his best week of the year with the irons last week in Crans and another short layout here should play to his strengths.
It was his best effort all year from tee to green also last week and the putter improved from the last few weeks. If he can manage to hole a few more putts he could improve on the 10th place finish he posted here back in 2017. Given last weeks effort I expected a shorter price than 150s.
1pt each-way M.Siem 150/1 (1/5 7)
Aaron Cockerill at 300/1 (Seven Places)
I'm going to delve into the unknown this week and back eight golfers, something I have never done before. I have a series of golfers at 300/1+ and given they are will all be small staked bets I can include them all. I'll start with Aaron Cockerill who suffers from a lack of length off the tee and on most weeks is up against it with the long game. He excels with his short game both around and on the greens and Himmerland should set up perfect for him.
He made both cuts back in July at the Barbasol and Barracuda and a made cut last week at one of the shorter tracks on tour was no surprise. He produced his best week on approach all year last week in the mountains and should he continue in that manner Himmerland should suit given his short game excellence. Already posted a 2nd and 3rd on tour this season. A lively outsider to say the least.
0.75pt each-way A.Cockerill 300/1 (1/5 7)
Nicolai Von Dellinghausen at 300/1 (Seven Places)
The 3rd German I'm backing this week is Nicolai Von Dellinghausen. He has suffered lately not making a cut since the BMW in Germany where he finished 5th. Previous to that he finished 18th in the European Open and with a 13th placed finish posted in Spain also hasn't been totally off the radar.
He is prone to spikes in any part of his game on any given week and should he manage a better week off the tee he could outplay his odds. He has posted some decent numbers on approach all year and if he repeats his best efforts in that department he could figure.
0.5pt each-way N.Von Dellinghausen 300/1 (1/5 7)
Lorenzo Gagli at 300/1 (Eight Places)
I'll finish with two proper Hail Mary punts in Gagli and Strydom. The Italian is another who suffers greatly with a lack of distance off the tee but worth noting he produced his best effort from the tee last week since March. His approach game needs improving but he has posted plenty of decent numbers putting and around the greens in the last few months and if he manages one decent week with the irons we could see him in the mix.
0.5pt each-way L.Gagli 300/1 (1/5 8)
Tristren Strydom at 500/1 (Seven Places)
Finally Tristen Strydom sits 46th in the Challenge Tour rankings and was impressive from the tee last week in Switzerland before being let down by all other departments of the game. The reason why I'm tempted into getting involved with the 500/1 is his earlier season efforts. He finished 11th in the MyGolfLife Open earlier in the season the week after finishing runner up on the Challenge Tour.
Two further top 20s on that tour show he is no slouch. His biggest and best effort of the year came just over 3 months ago when he won the South African Tour Championship beating the likes of Coetzee, Harding, Schaper and Nienaber. Upon winning he became the first ever golfer to win the Qualifying School and the Tour Championship. If he can manage a resurgence and hit those levels again he could make 500/1 look silly. A good week off the tee in Crans is a decent starting point for backing him at 500s.
0.5pt each-wat T.Strydom 500/1 (1/5 7)
