Staff WriterTapio Pulkkanen grabbed the Danish Golf Challenge by the collar on Saturday, signed for a second straight nine under par 63, and marched into the final round at Odense Eventyr Golf with a three-shot lead and the calm look of a man who has suddenly remembered where the hole is.
The 36-year-old Finn began the week with a rather ordinary one under par opening round, which left him loitering well away from the sharp end. Since then, he has played as though someone swapped his putter for a magic wand and forgot to tell the rest of the field.
Eight birdies, an eagle, and another 63 later, Pulkkanen sits in command on 19 under par. Not bad for a man who started Saturday thinking the day might become something of a slog.
A Slow Start, Then The Putts Started Talking
There are low rounds, and then there are rounds that quietly remove everyone else’s oxygen. Pulkkanen’s Saturday belonged firmly in the second category.
He had birdie chances at the third and fourth holes but failed to cash them in. That could have made the day awkward. Golf is fond of taking those early missed opportunities, wrapping them in barbed wire, and throwing them back at you around the 15th.
Instead, Pulkkanen stayed patient. Then came the eagle at the eighth, followed by more birdies, more momentum, and enough holed putts to make the rest of the leaderboard feel personally insulted.
“A second 63 in a row is a pretty cool feeling,” he said. “I kind of had a slow start.
“I thought it might be tough to get a low one today but then the eagle on eight and a couple birdies in a row was great. I’ve been holing a lot of putts.”
That last line rather tells the story. Golfers can spend years searching for a putting feel. Pulkkanen appears to have found one, bottled it, and brought it to Denmark in his hand luggage.
Walton Heath Sparked The Change
The turning point, according to Pulkkanen, came earlier in the week at Walton Heath during US Open qualifying. He currently sits 25th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, and that sort of position demands urgency without panic — a fine line, about the width of a decent putting stroke.
His adjustment sounds simple enough. Open the stance. See the hole better. Trust the stroke.
Naturally, in golf, “simple” usually means you have tried 47 other things first and are one lip-out away from speaking to the putter as though it has committed treason.
“I found my putting in Walton Heath at US Open qualifying on Monday and started holing putts in the second round. I opened my stance a bit so I can see the hole better, and the stroke feels great after that.
“I just trusted my putter, it was working so well. I played the tough holes pretty good today, it was quite windy on the back nine so I’m happy.
“A third 63 tomorrow would be good.”
That final sentence is doing a lot of work. A third consecutive 63 would not merely be good. It would be the sort of thing that makes playing partners stare into the middle distance and question their life choices.
Giboudot And Kleen Lead The Chase
Pulkkanen is not out on his own just yet. Frenchman Maxence Giboudot and Sweden’s Algot Kleen are both three shots back, and both have enough proximity to make Sunday uncomfortable if the leader opens the door even slightly.
Giboudot produced a nine-under-par round of his own on Saturday, matching Pulkkanen’s scoring pace and ensuring the final round has more than a ceremonial air. Kleen, one of the 36-hole co-leaders, added a five-under-par effort to remain firmly in the hunt.
Behind them, Spaniard Juan Salama and Frenchman Clement Sordet sit a further shot adrift, close enough to be relevant but probably needing something brisk and faintly outrageous on Sunday.
The other halfway co-leaders, Dane Martin Simonsen and Dutchman Lars van der Vight, finished the day at 13 under par. In scoring terms, that is respectable. In chasing-a-man-who-has-just-shot-63-twice terms, it feels like trying to catch a train after stopping for a sandwich.
Final Round Set For Odense
The final round of the Danish Golf Challenge begins at 8.00am local time, with Pulkkanen teeing off alongside Giboudot and Kleen at 10.01am.
That grouping gives Sunday exactly what it needs: the leader, the two nearest pursuers, and a golf course that has already shown it will reward courage, touch and a putter with the social confidence of a nightclub doorman.
For Pulkkanen, the task is straightforward in theory and viciously complicated in practice. Keep the rhythm. Keep seeing the line. Keep the field at arm’s length.
After back-to-back 63s, he has earned the right to lead. Now comes the harder business: turning a hot putter and a three-shot cushion into a trophy, while everyone behind him tries to make Denmark feel a little less comfortable.
