Fantasy Golf Picks & Predictions – Made In Denmark

European Tour Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2017 Made in Denmark

2017 Made in Denmark Fantasy Preview

The European Tour returns to its full-time occupation on the continent with an event that has grown into something of a fan favorite: the Made in Denmark from the Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort.

Thomas Pieters is the defending champion and joint course-record holder here, so there’s no prizes for guessing who is the favorite to win this week. He is joined at the head of the market by the veteran, Soren Kjeldsen, and another Danish national who has the ability to play outstanding golf and awful golf, sometimes even on the same day, in Thorbjorn Olesen.

Thomas Pieters of Europe reacts after a putt on the 16th green to win…

Thomas Pieters of Europe reacts after a putt on the 16th green to win the match as Rory McIlroy looks on during morning foursome matches of the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club on… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

The wind can get up in this part of the world, and the European Tour website describes Himmerland as ‘…although it’s not coastal, the course has a links feel,’ which is perhaps why the three previous winners of the event are Pieters, David Horsey, and Marc Warren.

It’s a fairly long Par 71 at 7,382 yards, and with winds swirling around and rain forecast a bit of length off the tee could be a real bonus this week. Is it any wonder that the average Driving Distance rank of the top-five in 2016 was 12.5?

Pieters and second-placed Bradley Dredge ranked first and second for Putts Per Round 12 months ago as well, and yet they only ranked 41st and 51st for Greens in Regulation respectively.

The recipe for success at Himmerland seems a simple one: drive it a long way, scramble for your life and then putt like a champion.

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This Week’s Made in Denmark Fantasy Picks & Predictions

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This Week’s Made in Denmark Fantasy Picks

Thomas Pieters – $11,700 – Are you a risk taker or more conservative when it comes to your DFS draft? If the latter, you may want to stop reading this profile now and instead turn your attention to Soren Kjeldsen ($11,100) – the Dane who boasts excellent course form.

But to win these big DFS contests realistically you need to draft the event champion, and as far as we’re concerned nobody has a more live chance than Thomas Pieters this week.

The Belgian is the best player in the field and the defending champion, and it’s not hard to see why he bested the field 12 months ago. His opening round of 62 set the tone, and from there it was a procession of quality golf as he ranked fourth for Driving Distance and second for Putts Per Round.

Pieters is also a brilliant scrambler with a magic short game, and we’re happy enough to overlook his missed cut at the PGA Championship given that he finished T4 at the WGC Bridgestone the week before.

There is always the risk that he could have one of his meltdowns and miss the cut, but with a player of Pieters’ class there is also the chance he could win this by five shots.

Bradley Dredge – $9,500 – See the Pieters vs Kjeldsen debate above? We’ve got another one here with the steady Bradley Dredge against the unpredictable Thorbjorn Olesen.

Olesen is a brilliant putter but somebody who has missed the cut here in each of his last two starts, so we’re happy to side with Dredge – a player whose course form reads 2-6-2.

Does Dredge win enough events? Of course not, his last came in 2006 for crying out loud, but don’t forget that he was on course for victory here 12 months ago until Pieters birdied the last three holes.

If the Welshman is likely to win anywhere then it’s here, and some of his recent form – T27 at the Open de France, T13 at the Irish Open – suggests he is playing well enough to go close.

Julian Suri – $7,900 – We like this big hitting American, and sense that he – like booming drive compatriots Jordan Smith and Ryan Fox – is ready to break through with a big performance any time soon.

He’s won on the Challenge Tour this term and finished second in a European Tour event (Open de Portugal), and he actually finished T11 in the Challenge Tour’s Made in Denmark event back in June. His best performance since then came in his last outing: T16 in the Porsche European Open.

Huge off the tee, Suri is down to under 30.00 putts per round this season, and so if he gets on one of his hot streaks who knows what he is capable of in Denmark.

Jeff Winther – $7,400 – Heading into his home tournament, Winther has found a bit of form at just the right time after stepping back to the Challenge Tour.

A T3 finish in Finland a few weeks ago was followed by a T13 in Northern Ireland a fortnight ago at a course with Links qualities, and so Winther will be full of sunshine as he heads home.

Some players thrive on the pressure of playing in front of their own fans, while others don’t like it all. Winther finished T18 on his sole start at Himmerland, so we’re guessing he falls into the former camp.

Chris Paisley – $7,300 – The Paul Lawrie Matchplay is an event where some players seem to rediscover their mojo. It worked for Anthony Wall, the talented champion from 2016, and Paisley will be hoping it works a charm for him too.

He was excellent in Germany last week as he strode through to the quarter finals, where he eventually lost out on the 20th hole to Alejandro Canizares. Paisley spoke very positively about his game on Twitter, and even used the fire emoji to describe his putting in his opening round win over Scott Jamieson. That bodes very well indeed.

The Englishman heads to Denmark with some much need confidence, and will be looking to build on his record at Himmerland which reads 34-35.

Hayden Porteous – $7,200 – Drafting a player with two missed cuts in as many starts in Denmark is a strategy for the bold, but if he is in the zone then Porteous is the kind of player who can reward the brave.

Ranking seventh on tour for Driving Distance, the South African is another who has slipped under the 30.00 mark for putts per round this season.

There have been little bits and pieces of form of late, with top-40s at the Irish Open, Open de France, Lyoness Open and Rocco Forte Open to call upon, and bizarrely given that he recorded three top-10s in 2016 his stroke average and average position stats are both down on last year. So surely he will cash in with a big showing soon?

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