Niall Lyons has five selections for the Made In Himmerland in Denmark.
Made In Himmerland 2023
The quirky course at Himmerland is always a fun one to preview as very rarely do we have a course than can and often does play so short. Often around the 6700 yard mark this par 70 is one of the shortest on tour but with many tees dotted around the property it can play various different yardages across the four days.
2023 Made In Himmerland Tips
There isn't any huge weight given to any one part of the game around here but approach play stands out the most. Hitting greens in regulation will minimise the amount of scrambling needed but Putting features highly on the winners' stats here down the years so ability on Bentgrass greens is also taken into consideration.
Marc Warren and Bernd Wiesberger have both won on this course and Diamond CC that holds the Austrian Open so a nod to performances there may prove fruitful.
Jordan Smith at 20/1 (Eight Places)
Jordan Smith floated between 14/1 and 16/1 last week in the British Masters before the off and I'm amazed that bigger is available in Himmerland with Rose, Min Woo Lee and Adrian Meronk sitting this one out. Granted the two Hojgaard brothers make an appearance here but question marks certainly surround Rasmus after recent withdrawals.
Smith arrives in fine form having finished 6th at the Porsche where he ranked 4th in the field on approach, then 20th at the US Open where he ranked 3rd in the field in the same department. Smith has the potential to blow away the field here with his approach play, but as we know that is no secret week to week.
What may be less known is that Bentgrass is the surface he has the best record on. Putting becomes extremely important to scoring around here and Smith putted well here on route to a 3rd place finish back in 2021. Having been lightly raced for most of the year with this only being his 13th full DPWT appearance of the year I expect a big finish to the season and with an ounce of luck on the greens he'll be hard to keep out of the fray here at the weekend.
2.5pts each-way J.Smith 20/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
Matthew Jordan at 50/1 (Eight Places)
One worth keeping an eye on at triple figures is Jeong Weon Ko despite worrying problems with the putter. 77th last week at the Belfry was a strange week ranking 1st on approach play, but last on the greens. Should he continue that play with the irons and improves on the greens he could certainly figure here.
One week is probably not enough evidence though and instead I'll opt for Matthew Jordan who has been excelling with his short game recently. The Englishman ranked 19th on the greens last week at the Belfry and prior to that 9th in Sweden, 22nd in Germany and 16th at the KLM have all been solid efforts where his short game has stood out.
There's no doubt his iron play will need to improve a little, like it did a few weeks ago in Sweden but with short game high up the list on statistics in the recent winners here Jordan must be played. With links pedigree in the conversation this week it's worth noting his amateur wins at St Andrews and the Lytham Trophy.
He shot 62 here last year which equalled the low round of the week eventually finishing 4th and should bring plenty of confidence following a solid effort last week despite some long game issues.
1.5pts each-way M.Jordan 50/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
Pablo Larrazabal at 45/1 (Six Places)
Between 40/1 and 50/1 is available for Pablo Larrazabal and I can't help but feel this is too big for someone who has won 4 DPWT events in his last 25 starts. The Spaniard has given us a lesson before in leaving him out at tasty odds and I'm determined not to make the same mistake again. Statistically throughout his career Larrazabal's game has got better the closer he gets to the greens.
That seems like a perfect recipe for success at Himmerland and having posted a top 5 here and a top 10 at Diamond CC I'm more than happy to get involved this week. Surprisingly in recent weeks it has been the short game that has let him down with solid approach play both at California and Munich being outdone with problems on or around the greens.
Pablo can easily turn that around though and with his iron play in good shape, much better than when he won in Holland a few weeks ago, he must be a danger to add his impressive tally of victories in the past couple of years.
1.25pt each-way P.Larrazabal 45/1 (1/5 6) Skybet
Hennie Du Plessis at 80/1 (Eight Places)
I'll take a chance of South African Hennie Du Plessis whose ball striking has been in point lately, but struggling with the short game. His putting has seen a little improvement over the past couple of weeks and there's reason to believe these greens could be to his liking. The South African enjoys Bentgrass greens and his stats tell us he plays this surface a full shot a round better than Poa, Bermuda or Paspalum.
He ranked 23rd off the tee, and 23rd on approach last week at the Belfry but once again was let down by the short game. His driving prior to the Belfry has also been eye catching. Driving won't win you this event, but the long game is certainly in good shape and the upturn in scoring on Bentgrass greens gives us the hope that he turn these top 40 efforts into something much better in Denmark.
1pt each-way H. Du Plessis 80/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
Richie Ramsay at 66/1 (Eight Places)
The Japanese duo of Hisatsune and Hoshino continue to impress on the DPWT and it'd be no surprise should either of those be in the final few groups on Sunday but my preference is for someone who suffers a lot of weeks of the year from a lack of distance off the tee and who is suited by this venue, in the shape of Richie Ramsay.
Ramsay netted an overdue victory this month last year when winning the Cazoo Classic at Hillside, a venue with many of the same characteristics than Himmerland. Two of his three other victories on tour came at short layouts at Dar Es Salam and Crans Sur Sierre.
The Scot arrives here in fine form with two top 7 finishes in his last four efforts with both excellent iron play and putting contributing to each of those. last week his iron play dipped, as well as his putting, but he ranked 1st around the greens at the Belfry, which will no doubt come into the equation this week.
He has good credentials on links or faux links type layouts and undoubtedly has an ability to cope in any blustery conditions that appear to be at their worst on Thursday and Friday.
1pt each-way R.Ramsay 66/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
