Danish Golf Championship: Day one digest

Félix Mory hit the front, Lucas Bjerregaard thrilled the home fans, Jonas Baumgartner was handed a late chance and Oliver Lindell was thinking about his balls on day one of the Danish Golf Championship.

Here is everything you need to know from Thursday at Great Northern.

Mory on top

Félix Mory matched the lowest round of his DP World Tour career to take a one-shot lead after day one. The Frenchman overcame consecutive bogeys on the back nine by going birdie-eagle on the 16th and 17th to card a course-record 65 and hit the front on seven under. Bjerregaard was a shot back alongside South African Brandon Stone, one clear of Italian pair Filippo Celli and Francesco Laporta, China's Wenyi Ding, Finn Oliver Lindell and Germany's Freddy Schott. HotelPlanner Tour graduate Mory is starting in just his 22nd DP World Tour event and his 65 matches his third-round score from his last start at the ISCO Championship. The 31-year-old has missed 12 of his 16 cuts so far this season but after making three of his last five, his performance in round one at Great Northern continues a trend that shows he is getting used to Tour life.

Bjerregaard leads home charge

Bjerregaard may currently have limited status on Tour but he is a two-time winner for a reason and on Thursday looked every inch the player who was once top 50 in the world. Starting on the tenth, he got up and down on the 11th and hit pinpoint irons into the 12th, 13th and 16th to quickly move up the leaderboard. An eagle from six feet on the next had him within one and while he three-putted the 18th, he hit a smart approach into the first and took advantage of the fourth to share the lead. Missed chances from inside six feet on the fifth and seventh were then compunded by a bogey on the eighth but the home hero was left to reflect on a good day's work. "It was a great round," he said. "I drove it really nice, hit some good iron shots, made every putt inside ten feet on my front nine. I let a couple of chances slip by on the back and then finished with a bogey on my 17th. I didn't really know what to expect, I hadn't played for a while. I was a bit nervous about today but it turned out alright."

Baumgartner's thrilling Thursday

At 1.40pm on Thursday, with just 40 minutes to go until the last group teed off, Baumgartner was sat in the locker room at Great Northern thinking he would be heading home soon. At 2.00pm he was teeing off on the first. Joakim Lagergren's withdrawal on Monday meant that Baumgartner had become first reserve and with three days left for another withdrawal, the German headed over from the United States for a potential DP World Tour debut as a professional. Nearly 48 hours after his first arrival at the course, it looked like that chance was gone but then an injury to Richie Ramsay gave him the latest of late entries. "I waited all day," he said. "Warmed up twice to see if we were going to get the chance and I was, not leaving, but resting in the locker room for ten minutes and I got a call saying you're up in 20 minutes." Playing alongside English duo Matthew Baldwin and Todd Clements, it was understandable when Baumgartner's opening drive went right and he surrendered a bogey. But he was under par by the fourth and then made 13 pars in a row before dropping a shot on the last in a 72. "Glad to play, the course is awesome," he said. "I had a really great group as well, it was fun. I felt like I was playing pretty good, especially the front nine I had a couple of chances. Overall it was pretty solid and it was nice that I was able to get some practice in yesterday and this morning. I was pretty glad with even par." Some day.

Lindell overcomes water woe

Lindell admitted he was worried he could run out of balls as he recovered from a triple bogey to post an opening 67. The Finn has been one of the stars of the season as he has not missed a single cut and currently sits 11th on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World. It looked like his run – which stretches back to the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – could be in danger when he put two balls in the water on the 14th, his fifth, to slip over par. But he responded birdie-birdie-eagle and added two more gains on the way home to put himself right in contention. "I was thinking 'do I have enough balls for the round?' because I hit two balls on that hole into the water," he said. "But then a couple of good swings on the next hole, made the birdie straightaway and that's how it is. I said after 12 holes to my caddie, 'let's just make two more birdies so I don't have to be scary about missing the cut this week'."

Stone thanks 'old faithful'

A revived and refreshed Stone credited his "old faithful" putter for his return to form as he carded his lowest round since the very start of the season. The South African began his campaign with a 64 on home soil at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and while he maintained a bright start to the season, he has made just two cuts since May while missing his last four. In the three-week break since firing rounds of 70-75 at the Corales Puntacana Championship, he has been back to South Africa and he revealed he got his "head back to neutral" after spending time with friends. But equally important may be the return of his trusty PING PLD, which he affectionately calls Black Betty, as he explained after an opening 66. "That kind of score has been on the cards for me for quite a while, I've just been struggling on the greens," said the Rolex Series winner, "I had a little bit of time at home, a little bit of time in the bush on a hunting trip with the boys, kind of got the head back to neutral. Brought the old Black Betty back in the bag, the old faithful and she worked like a charm today. Black shaft, black grip, black head, my PLD she worked like a charm today. I didn't really miss much, holed some great putts out there."

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