By Nick Totten
At Zhailjau Golf Resort
Many will expect Lasse Jensen to arrive at Zhailjau Golf Resort in high spirits and confident of another good week after two top three finishes in 2014, but it turns out that all is not quite what it seems for the Dane ahead of the tenth anniversary edition of the Kazakhstan Open.
Just a few weeks ago Jensen lead through the first 54 holes at the Rolex Trophy only to let his three round advantage slip on the final day, a performance that to onlookers might have looked like a mental lapse, when it turns it was in fact the complete opposite.
Upon heading back to his homeland for a return to The European Tour at Made in Denmark a week prior, the 30 year old and his coach set about working on a few changes that they saw as long-term fixes with a view to peaking his form ahead of a big finish to the season.
Then, all of a sudden, Jensen found himself right at the top of his game during four great rounds at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort en route to a tie for seventh, before he opened up with a superlative round of 61 the following week on the second tier in Geneva .
Two more solid scores followed, but on a day when the wind got up and he struggled to get going, his recent changes proved to not quite be ready for the Sunday afternoon pressure cooker as he fell to a 75 and a third place finish on the final day.
To those who have not spoken to the articulate Dane that would have looked like a collapse, but he says otherwise. Jensen therefore arrives in Kazakhstan feeling good about his swing, even if it is still a work in progress, and ready to capitalise on a week where a win would guarantee a return to The Race to Dubai.
“It is a very exciting week because the prize fund is nearly three times more than a normal event, so obviously playing well is important,” said the man at 18th on the European Challenge Tour Rankings. “You always see that guys who do well in this event will also do well on the Ranking, so it is one of those tournaments where you have more focus on it as it feels like a major event, but you still try and do the same stuff.
“It was funny because me and my coach worked on some stuff at Made in Denmark that would be good long term, but then I finished seventh. Then I shot 61 in the first round the following week and nearly won at Rolex, so you never know when you will play well.
“That’s the good thing about this game, as sometimes it can surprise for you, and those two weeks were a surprise as the stuff we were working on was to peak for the last four events, so it was funny that it happened sooner.
“It’s always the case though that people look at it and think I’m playing well, but this was never the intention. It is always nice when it comes though, and you are of course very happy when it does.
“Heading in to the final round in Rolex I had been leading for 54 holes, and mentally I was very strong that week. However in the afternoon the wind got up, the greens were firm and the pins were tricky, so birdies were tough to find and I didn’t play good enough.
“People might say that I had the game but didn’t perform mentally, when really it was the complete opposite, as I was there and saw the shot but could just not perform it. People mess it up sometimes, so it is better to get it from the person who was there, but that one round can’t destroy three fantastic days. I was happy with how I played and disappointed not to win, but it should feel that way.”
Jensen got his season off to the ideal start when he finished second to Jake Roos at the Barclays Kenya Open back in March, and the Copenhagen native has only missed two cuts since, posting top 20 finishes on five occasions to go with his couple of podiums.
He will therefore be pleased with how he hs played in 2014, but the highlight so far will no doubt be the opportunity to play on home soil at Made in Denmark, a week that acts as a fitting reminder as to what is on offer for those players who graduate from the second tier at season’s end.
If Jensen is to do that, then the changes he is making will need to take effect in the coming weeks. The €450,000 prize fund in Kazakhstan is the biggest of the season, but with similarly sizable pots on offer during the final four events that make up the Final Swing, there is ample opportunity available to cash in and claim a place in the top 15 in the Rankings.
“To be a Dane that week at Himmerland was fantastic,” said Jensen, who finished in a tie for fourth in this event at Zhailjau two years ago. “It was a great supported event, the atmosphere was really nice, and they’ve already started selling tickets for next year. It was a really special week and it is nice to have the European Tour back in Denmark.
“Whether you have a Tour card or not, it is always nice to play in your home country because you always feel more at home and it is maybe easier to perform when everyone is there to back you up.
“I’m still working on the swing and it is still like those two weeks where it feels like I’m not really there yet, so I go out thinking about it but try not to be too technical. I should be ready for the first round this week though, and then obviously I just hope it will be my week.
“I feel like my head is where it should be, I just need to keep working hard on my game. Whatever week it is that I peak I can’t be sure, but hopefully it will be before the end of the season, because they are big events and if that happens then I’m home and dry.”
