By Mathieu Wood
When it comes to form, there can be few players who arrive at the ISPS HANDA Senior Open with greater hope of lifting the trophy than Søren Kjeldsen.
After a remarkable 26 consecutive seasons on the DP World Tour since his debut in 1998, the Dane has this year turned his focus to the senior game.
While he won the final stage of PGA TOUR Champions qualifying school in December to earn his playing rights, Kjeldsen had to wait until May when he turned to 50 to get going but he has wasted no time in making an impression.
Across his six starts stateside, he has finished runner-up twice, and registered a further two top tens, including at the Senior PGA Championship – his first senior Major Championship.
So, naturally, for a player who used to live down the road from this week’s host venue Sunningdale, he can’t wait to get started at Europe’s only Senior Major.
“It's been brilliant,” said Kjeldsen of his transition in recent months to the senior ranks.
“It's still very competitive, but the atmosphere is slightly different.
“People still love playing golf, competing, but at the same time I feel like people sort of prioritise having a good time as well.
“When you're 25 and it's all about trophies and just playing well it's slightly different.”
Even before starting his career in seniors golf, Kjeldsen was a man feeling good about his game, winning on the Nordic Golf League earlier in the year in his homeland.
Last season, he became just the fourth player to amass 700 or more appearances on the DP World Tour, joining David Howell, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Sam Torrance.
A four-time winner on the DP World Tour, Kjeldsen has long been widely regarded by his peers, maximising his game despite his diminutive stature in a sport where big hitting has become increasingly more important.
Now, playing alongside players of a similar age bracket, he is no longer playing catch-up – and is in fact on the opposite end of the story as one of the younger players on tour.
“Generally, I would say the short iron shots, short game has always been my strength, whereas driving has statistically been the weakest part of my game,” he said.
“Playing senior tour golf, the courses are slightly shorter.
“I don’t feel like I lose as much off the tee that I did on the main tour and then from there I think my game is very strong, so it’s really played to my type of game.
“I think it’s one of the reasons I’ve done well.”
The fact that his Senior Open debut should come at Sunningdale, only makes this experience all the more meaningful.
Even for someone who has played all around the world, the Old Course at the Berkshire venue – annually a top 10 course in Great Britain & Ireland – stands tall as one of the best.
“I've played a few times in Open Final Qualifying here and I think it's one of the best courses in the world,” he said.
“I could play here every day for the rest of my life. I was thinking about it yesterday when I played.
“If I had to play at one course for the rest of my life, there would be three places that would come to mind. I would play in the Sandbelt region in Australia, in Scotland at St Andrews and then I’d come here.
“It ranks right up there with the best. It is just a treat playing here.”
Whether it be the DP World Tour, Legends Tour or PGA TOUR Champions, there is a family feel to all and Kjeldsen has enjoyed the opportunity to reacquaint himself with figures of the game he has known for many years.
“There have been so many faces that I haven't seen for a long time, like fellow Scandinavians Joaekim Haeggman and Patrik Sjöland,” he said.
“Even going over to America, Ricardo Gonzalez, all these guys.
“Just reconnecting [has been nice]. We spend our whole life together, really, across the last 30 years.
“Some of them make the transition and you don’t see them for five to seven years and then now catching up with them feels like a school reunion. I’ve loved every minute of it.”
