Frederic Lacroix says the challenge of a new venue has eased his expectations as he defends a title for the first time on the DP World Tour at this week’s Danish Golf Championship.
Last year, at Lübker Golf Resort, the Frenchman carded a final round of 65 to overturn a four-stroke deficit to win by that margin.
Victory was the highlight of an impressive campaign back on the DP World Tour, following promotion from the HotelPlanner Tour, as he qualified for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Now, 12 months on, he is in a relaxed mood despite being faced with a new assignment as the DP World Tour makes its first visit to Furesø Golf Club for the final event on the Closing Swing.
“Since it’s a new venue, it doesn’t feel like I’m defending a title,” he said. “It’s just a new week, a new course to discover and we’ll see how it goes.
“It feels a little bit like the pressure is off this week because it feels completely new. If it was the same course as last year, it would be different.
“Except some of the Danish guys, no one has played here before.”
A few players have suggested unfamiliarity with the new layout, a parkland course in Copenhagen measuring just over 7,000 yards, could result in a stark contrast in the scoring among the field.
“It’s a tight course,” said Lacroix of his early impressions in practice. “You have to put it in play and if you do that you’ll have a lot of chances.
“It’s not straightforward. A few tricky holes, it’s going to be interesting."
Lacroix, who along with Matteo Manassero and Jesper Svensson was one of three HotelPlanner Tour graduates to win on the Race to Dubai last season, returns to Denmark just inside the top 100 on the Race to Dubai Rankings.
With his playing privileges already secure for another year, he is playing with a freedom and enjoyed his best result of the season last month at the BMW International Open in Germany with a tie for seventh.
He has since had some time to rest and recover on holiday in Italy and is hoping he can find his groove as the DP World Tour prepares to move into the Back 9 phase next week at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.
“I have no idea why I played well [in Germany],” said the 30-year-old, whose last appearance came at the Genesis Scottish Open.
“I came straight from the Open Qualifier where I wasn’t playing well. It’s a course I like, I’ve done well there before. No practice round and the pressure was off.
“Here I saw the course yesterday and I’ll play nine again today. We’ll see how it goes."
