John Axelsen will be hoping to build on the positive signs that earned him a top ten finish last week and a spot in this week’s field at the Infortar Estonian Challenge.
Axelsen, from Denmark, birdied three of his last four holes at last week’s Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge to secure a share of tenth place, with those who finish on the first page of the leaderboard earning a spot in next week’s event if not already exempt.
Currently ranked 160th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, he made it into the field in the Czech Republic through an invite, and was relieved, first and foremost, to make his first cut in five starts this year, playing his first weekend golf of the season on the Road to Mallorca.
“After I made the cut, it was a bit emotional,” he said. “Obviously not too much because it’s only a made cut, but it’s been a tough season for me so far so it was pretty good for me to just get over that hump and make a cut and then see what would happen in the weekend.
“It felt like a weight off the shoulders and I think that’s one of the reasons I played well. I was more free and just had no expectations so I think that’s why I felt free and actually played well.
“It was a tough mental job on Friday out there because the season has not been too good and I really wanted to make a cut. The way that I went for it mentally was try not to think too much about it and almost not care which is so tough in golf.
“You have to not care but it’s the thing you care most about, so I knew that I was going to be stressed.”
Starting the week with a two over par 73, it was looking like a familiar story for Axelsen.
But the Dane rallied on Friday, firing seven birdies on the way to a five under 66, making the cut despite a double bogey six on the 18th.
Weekend rounds of 67-66 then followed, with three birdies in his final four holes of the tournament, including on 18, which Axelsen had played torridly throughout the week, making two double bogeys and one triple before Sunday.
“During the finish I was in a good state of mind and the game was feeling really good on that last round so I knew that I could chase, I could be a little more aggressive,” he added.
“I also knew that the last few holes were not really the holes that I had been playing the best that week, so it was just about putting myself in good positions, be aggressive and hopefully make the putts, and I did. 18 was a nice cherry on the top with the scores I’d been putting on that hole in the first three rounds.
“I was just really pleased with my game that week so for me it was just I wanted to play good golf and I did that. It was nice to get into this week, but I also know with my category that I need to finish top ten the rest of the season.”
Although Axelsen has earned himself another start this week, he knows more top tens are his only option if he doesn’t want to rely on invites going forward.
The 28-year-old had made it to the DP World Tour in 2023, but after narrowly failing to keep his card he has struggled for form.
Now, the Danish golfer is hoping a better mental game can help him enjoy being on the course more, and then translate this into better results.
“It’s been a bit up and down. In 2023 on the DP World Tour, I finished two spots outside keeping my card, and then didn’t really get enough good placements in 2024 to make it dangerous in terms of getting my card,” he said.
“And then it seemed like it went slowly downhill from then. It’s a tough game and its one that really tests you mentally and now I just hope that I can start playing some good golf again.
“I don’t really care where it is, I just want to have a good feeling, look forward to going out there to play and if I can do that everything will be fine.
“It’s a good course this week, the greens are amazing. I don’t know what I expect of this week but being in the state of mind I was last week and trying to continue that is all I can hope for and then we’ll see what the score is.”
Axelsen will be joined by a strong field set to take on Estonian Golf and Country Club, including Road to Mallorca number two Pablo Ereno, as well as last week's winner Anton Albers.
Round one of the Infortar Estonian Challenge gets under way at 07:30am on Thursday, with Axelsen teeing off at 08:20am alongside Germany’s Marc Hammer and England’s Barclay Brown.
