Jacob Skov Olesen admitted that even he was surprised by his fast start to The 153rd Open after grabbing a shock share of the early lead at Royal Portrush.
The DP World Tour rookie mixed an eagle and four birdies with two bogeys during an opening-round 67 on Thursday morning, leaving the world No 354 setting the clubhouse target at four under.
Olesen’s only previous major appearance was last year’s Open Championship, where he ended tied-60th as amateur, while the 26-year-old has struggled for form in recent months after a strong start to his season.
Jacob Skov Olesen set the initial clubhouse target on the opening day of The Open
“The way I was playing, I wouldn’t say it [leading] was in the cards,” Olesen admitted. “I would say I always feel like if I play my game that I can do well, especially around here, around links courses.
“I shape it around with some good short game as well, but it hasn’t been very good golf the last couple of months. I’ve been driving it well, but my approach game has been quite awful to say the least.”
Olesen was playing alongside Taylor Pendrith and former world No 1 Jason Day in the fourth group of the day
Olesen holed a 40-foot birdie at the first and two-putted from 15 feet at the seventh, then cancelled out failing to get up and down to save par at the eighth by rolling in from 15 feet at the tenth.
He jumped ahead with a 42-foot eagle at the 12th and chipped in to birdie the par-five 15th, only to lose his outright advantage when he missed from 10 feet at the last and carded a final-hole bogey.
“Obviously annoyed to finish off with a bogey and not getting it up in two from there,” Olesen added. “But it happens and whether it happens on hole seven or hole 18, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter for the full round.”
Who is Jacob Skov Olesen? His rise to major contention
Olesen became the first Dane to win The Amateur Championship last summer and went on to finish 60th at The Open that year, but gave up his place at The Masters and the US Open after securing his DP World Tour card at Qualifying School in November.
He previously impressed in college golf in the United States, competing in the Arnold Palmer Cup, although always elected to see out university rather than turn professional at a younger age.
“I wasn’t good enough,” Olesen admitted. “I wanted to get my degree and work on my game and played very strong fields in amateur golf over there as well, which I think helps prepare you for pro golf.
“I was never in college thinking ‘I’m going to quit college and go pro now’, because I wasn’t at the level that was required.”
He quickly adjusted to the professional ranks with five top-13 finishes in eight starts on the DP World Tour, including a share of seventh at the Joburg Open, tied-eighth at the Volvo China Open and tied-ninth at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
He acted as caddie for girlfriend and fellow professional golfer Darcey Harry on the Ladies European Tour just last month, where the Welshwoman won the Hulencourt Women’s Open to claim her maiden professional victory.
Olesen added top-20 finishes at the Turkish Airlines Open and KLM Open, although he struggled to contend at the Italian Open before missing the cut at the BMW International Open and ISCO Championship in his last two starts.
He rounds of 65-69 at Burnham and Barrow on July 1 to finish second at his venue for Final Qualifying and secure his spot at The Open, while he currently sits 62nd in the Race to Dubai standings and is well-placed to retain his full-time DP World Tour status.
A fast start in Northern Ireland has raised hopes of a career-changing week.
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