After hitting countless balls at Furesø Golf Klub since he was a child, Rasmus Neergaard Petersen is relishing the limelight at this week’s Danish Golf Championship.
The Dane, one of the best emerging talents in European golf, is the subject of increased attention as the DP World Tour makes its first visit to his home club.
Neergaard-Petersen enjoyed a stellar 2024 as he secured automatic promotion from the HotelPlanner Tour by winning three times on last year’s Road to Mallorca.
He has since built on that breakout year, during which he was named an Honorary Member at Furesø Golf Klub, with a series of notable performances in his first season on the DP World Tour.
Stand-out highlights include two Major Championship appearances at the US PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, where he finished in a share of 12th, but a home game at his national open is an opportunity he never envisaged being a reality growing up.
"It feels incredible. The amount of rounds and time that I have spent here throughout the years is incredible," he said.
"I don’t think it has quite sunk in. It is incredible to stay at home, quite an odd dynamic but I am looking forward to it.
“Looking back over 15 years, back then I never thought we would have a DP World Tour event right here in my back garden. It is quite special."
Neergaard-Petersen doesn’t recall how old he was but his earliest memory of being at Furesø Golf Klub was with his dad, attending some winter training with a local PGA professional.
A regular at club championships as a child, the 26-year-old now finds himself inside the world’s top 100 and riding high on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings and with aspirations to further his development by earning a PGA TOUR card.
Neergaard-Petersen has made several visits back to his home course during the season in preparation for this week, with fellow members always keen to speak to him about his progress.
“It’s new to me but it’s super cool to see the support for me," he said.
"It’s also really important that I enjoy it. You never know if it is going to happen again.
“I can certainly see there being some extra nerves on the first tee tomorrow. As I settle into the round it is business as usual.
“We have got a lot of good events coming up. One big sprint to the finish line.
"I have just tried to recharge the batteries and be as ready as possible."
With the Danish Golf Championship the final event of the Closing Swing ahead of the Back 9 starting next week at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, Neergaard-Petersen is hoping he can use his inside knowledge as he goes in search of a first DP World Tour title.
“Looking through the yardage book, I don’t think it is necessarily difficult to figure out what the correct line should be, but it is one of those you can wonder whether it is the right line and how much room you have.
"But I have played it so many times that I know that if I hit it there I have the space I need so it should mean I am comfortable out there.
"I will hopefully feed off the energy from the crowds. Super excited."
Neergaard-Petersen is grouped alongside defending champion Frederic Lacroix and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson over the opening two days.
Ahead of the tournament, Neergaard-Petersen also gave us his insider perspective on what to expect from the DP World Tour's newest venue.
How would you describe the course to someone who has never seen it before?
It is a typical parkland course. In among the trees, the wind can swirl. This week we are playing a composite course. The front nine is the typical front nine and then there are a couple of new holes on the back nine, with par fives converted to par fours. I think there is an 800 or 900 yard difference in length between the front and back nine. I could easily see there being two shots or two and half shots difference between the two nines. With the set up that we have, you have to be good off the tee. If you are, you can score. The rough, especially the native stuff, is really thick so you definitely want to stay out of that. If you stay patient you can make some birdies because there are plenty of short holes. There are a couple of tough ones where you have to suck it up and hit good shots just to make par.
What are your three favourite holes?
Good question! I really like the two par threes on the front nine, the fifth and ninth. The latter is probably my favourite hole. Then I think the 18th is a really cool hole, especially as a finishing hole on Sunday. It is a par five, and depending on the wind, I think pretty much everyone in the field can reach in two so it is a hole that if you need a birdie to get into a play-off it’s definitely a good opportunity. At the same time if you have a one-shot lead, it is a tough driving hole so you don’t have to do too much wrong to make a bogey which is super exciting and could lead to an exciting finish on Sunday.
Where are the scoring opportunities?
The 1st and 8th are short driveable par fours. But in truth you never really hit the green at the eighth, instead you tend to finish greenside. You definitely have to score on those though. The 14th too. If you get the ball in the fairway off the tee, you can score on any hole but at the same time you don’t have to be far off to score a bogey or a double bogey.
What is your best score at Furesø Golf Klub?
So, my lowest round, playing 16 of the 18 holes we are playing this week, is a 61. I can't remember when it was! I don’t think we will be seeing any 61s this week, due to some added length, and some par fives being converted to par fours. It is a course where I feel if you go out and take on some risk, hit a lot of drivers then you can shoot six, seven or eight under but at the same time if you are slightly off it can come back to bite you so I think there will be plenty of variation in the scores. You could play two days where you feel you are playing quite similarly and you can shoot four or five shots better or worse just depending on whether you are on or off the fairway.
