Jacob Skov Olesen opens with 64 after 'terrible' warm‑up at Soudal Open

Jacob Skov Olesen turned a frustrating morning on the range into his lowest opening round of the season, firing a superb seven‑under‑par 64 to set the early pace on day one of the Soudal Open at Rinkven International Golf Club.

The 26‑year‑old Dane admitted that the signs of a bad practice on the driving range ofen tell him it's going to be a good day on the course.

While new irons in the bag this week and a shaky morning might have dampened others' spirits, it proved to be fuel for Olesen, who produced his second‑lowest round of the season.

"I had a terrible range session, which usually is a pretty good sign, actually," he said. "I couldn't find the centre of the face on the range this morning so I figured then that'll be good. I usually play quite well when I hit it terrible on the range.

"I got new irons in the bag, loving them. just seeing a bit more of what I want."

Olesen arrived in Antwerp determined to bounce back from a missed cut at the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship two weeks ago and rediscover the form that had already delivered three top‑five finishes this season.

Now in his second year on the DP World Tour, following a breakout rookie campaign in which he reached the DP World Tour Championship and even shared the first‑round lead at The Open, the Dane wasted no time signalling that his confidence had returned.

He opened steadily with two pars before igniting his round at the par‑four third, where he rolled in a 35‑foot birdie putt. That sparked a run of three consecutive birdies, and after four closing pars on the front nine he turned in 32.

The momentum continued after the turn. A birdie at the 11th pushed him further under par, and although he dropped a shot at the 12th, Olesen responded immediately with a birdie from the fringe at the 13th.

A putt from just outside 20 feet at the 15th took him to six under, and he closed in style with back‑to‑back birdies, including another 35‑footer at the 17th and a composed 15‑footer at the last.

“It was a good day,” he said. “Played solid. Made two putts from over 40 feet — I haven’t done that in a while, so it was nice to do two of those. It was pretty solid all the way through. So happy, yeah.

"I already thought it was a little, firmer than I expected. It's a bit slower than I thought, given all the rain, but it's a good day. I'm excited for next few days."