Staff WriterThe Danish Challenge Open has a wonderfully congested look at halfway, with Martin Simonsen, Lars van der Vight and Algot Kleen locked together at 11 under par after a second round that rewarded the early risers and gently punished anyone who fancied a lie-in.
Morning Calm Brings Scoring Surge
After round one’s high winds had made life feel less like tournament golf and more like trying to post a score inside a tumble dryer, the morning wave found something approaching peace.
Chilly, yes. Calm, absolutely. And for three players in particular, utterly profitable.
Van der Vight made the loudest move of the leading trio, carding a seven under par 65 that featured six birdies and an eagle. It was tidy, patient and ruthless in that understated way golfers have when everything is quietly behaving itself.
“It was good,” the Dutchman said. “It was a bit chilly this morning but I don’t mind the early start, there was hardly any wind.
“I just stayed patient, hit my spots, and the putter has been pretty good too which is nice.”
That last line, as any golfer knows, is rather like saying your parachute opened nicely. The putter being “pretty good” can turn an ordinary week into something that requires a trophy polish.
Simonsen Keeps It Clean On Home Soil
Martin Simonsen, playing with the sort of control that keeps blood pressure tablets in their bottles, posted a bogey-free six under par 66 to add to his opening 67.
Of the three leaders, his card was the cleanest. No blemishes, no wobbles, no needless little detours into the rough stuff. Just a well-managed round from a player who appears to have adjusted rather neatly after Thursday’s gusty assault course.
“I played quite well all day, I had lots of chances,” the man from Denmark said. “I drove it much better today than yesterday which was a big key.
“Yesterday was brutal when we started off, I couldn’t believe it. I would definitely have taken this starting off yesterday.”
For a Danish player to be sharing the lead at the Danish Challenge Open is, naturally, a storyline with a bit of local electricity about it. Nothing excessive yet. Nobody is ordering bunting. But if Simonsen keeps driving it like this, the weekend may develop a distinctly home-flavoured hum.
Kleen Makes The Most Of His Invite
Then there is Algot Kleen, the Swede who arrived via an invite and is now very much refusing to behave like a guest who should be grateful for the buffet and leave quietly.
A regular on the Nordic Golf League, Kleen has given himself a serious chance at a higher level, and his second round was the sort that changes a player’s week from “nice opportunity” to “clear your Sunday evening”.
“I got off to a slow start but then the first bogey woke me up and kick-started my round, and then I managed to get some birdies.
“I will try and win this weekend. Just keep playing good and make a lot of birdies and see where we end up.”
There is no great mystery in that plan. Make birdies. Try to win. Avoid doing anything daft. Golfers have written longer strategies and achieved considerably less.
Pulkkanen Produces The Round Of The Week
Just behind the leaders at ten under par sit Adam Wallin of Sweden, Javier Barcos Garbayo of Spain and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen, who produced the round of the week so far with a blistering nine under par 63.
A 63 has a way of changing the mood of a leaderboard. It taps everyone else on the shoulder and says, politely but firmly, that standing still is not an option.
One shot further back are Denmark’s Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen and Spain’s Juan Salama, with another busy group at eight under that includes Albin Tiden, Jannik de Bruyn, Liam Nolan, Clement Sordet, Clement Guichard, Kristian Krogh Johannessen and Jeppe Kristian Andersen.
In other words, the Danish Challenge Open is not so much delicately poised as it is stacked like rush-hour traffic.
Weekend Set Up For A Proper Scrap
Round three begins at 7.30 am local time, with the leading group scheduled to head out at 11.57 am.
The equation now is simple enough. Simonsen has local momentum. Van der Vight has a hot putter and a 65 in the bank. Kleen has the dangerous freedom of a player already outperforming the terms of his invitation. Behind them, Pulkkanen has just reminded everyone that a low number is out there for anyone brave enough to go hunting.
At halfway, the Danish Challenge Open has delivered the one thing every tournament needs heading into the weekend: uncertainty with a pulse. And if the wind decides to behave, this could become a birdie contest with sharp elbows.
