Tournament Chairman Thomas Bjørn has revealed his pride in the development of the Danish Golf Championship ahead of its tenth edition this week at Lübker Golf Resort.
The event began life in 2014 as the Made in Denmark and with over 80,000 fans attending over the course of the week, the stage was set for one of the most popular events on tour.
Marc Warren was the first winner at Himmerland Golf Resort and seven more editions were held in Farsø, with the 2018 event moving to Silkeborg Ry Golf Club.
That inaugural staging in 2014 came in the same year Bjørn made his final Ryder Cup appearance and 2018 saw fellow Dane Thorbjørn Olesen secure his place on the team which Bjørn captained.
Last season saw Rasmus Højgaard become the first home winner of the Danish Golf Championship and Bjørn is delighted with how the local players and the Danish fans have taken the event to their hearts.
"There’s a lot of Danes in this field, so that will make it nice for us," he said. "It’s nice to see a lot of those guys and being back in our home country.
"I always look forward to this. It’s always a nice week. It’s always good fun. It adds a little bit of extra to the feelings. We’re here and ready to go.
"It’s just followed the development of the professional game in our country. We used to be few and far between with results, and now it’s a constant production line of new players and we’ve had huge successes in the last few years.
"We’ve got enormous talent and very good players. The tournament is following suit. It grows, becomes better and better and now we’re taking it around the country and we’ll see how that goes. I’m looking forward to playing here and going close to Copenhagen next year will be interesting to see.
"The tournament is something to be proud of. It’s something we want to play in. Not one Danish player has missed playing in this event at any given stage, unless it’s been through injury. It’s something we stand together for and want to produce something good. We look forward to this week and we’re proud of the event."
Bjørn - a 15-time winner on the DP World Tour - revealed he finds his title of Chairman a little formal for the role he is playing but he is happy to be able to give something back outside the ropes, although he admits he is not expecting to challenge for the title inside them.
"I’m now coming out of the other side of a golf career," he said. "Other things become more interesting for me, in the sense of playing senior golf and doing other things. I’ve worked with the Tour over the years as well.
"Somebody wanted to find a role for me where I can advise on the event and be part of it. I’m in a place where I can sit and look at Danish golf, help the event, help the federation; I spent a couple of weeks at the Olympics with them, and just try to pass on advice and what I see and try and make the event better and also try and help golf in the country.
"I feel after 30 years of professional golf, I’m in a good position to offer some sort of advice at times."
He added: "It would be fun (to win this week). I’d be more surprised than most.
"I come here and want to play golf and I’m quite enjoying my golf at the moment. I feel like I’ve played some decent stuff at times this year, especially on the seniors in America.
"I’m in a good place with my golf. I enjoy it and want to try and enjoy this.
"More importantly I want to see one or two of our young players being up there this week and competing to win titles. The event is for them and I’d love to see them up there."
