Day one digest: 2021 Made in HimmerLand presented by FREJA

Everything you need to know from day one in Farsø.

Wiesberger made a strong start to his title defence, Larrazábal out-foxed some of the youngsters in the field and Ruuska had a European Tour debut to remember.

Here is everything you need to know from day one in Denmark.

Wiesberger keen to keep his title

Bernd Wiesberger won this title two years ago and, after last year's event was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic, remains the defending champion. The Austrian rolled in a 30 foot birdie putt on the last to make it a five-way tie for the lead on five under. "I like it around here," the 35-year-old said. "It was a good day, a steady start. It was nice to get a couple of early birdies – putts dropped and a bonus on the eighth. Quite a solid day and I’m very happy with the start. The golf course can play really tricky if you’re slightly off with the wind and your execution, you can get in to trouble. It’s not like it’s guaranteed out there, an under par round each day. I’ll just stay sharp and see good lines and commit to the shots I hit out there. If I do that I feel like I have a golf course in front of me that I can score well on."

Larrazábal uses experience

If the last two weeks have taught us anything, it's that wisdom goes a long way. Richard Bland became the European Tour's oldest first-time winner at the age of 48 at The Belfry, before Phil Mickelson became golf's oldest major winner at the ripe old age of 50. England's Bland matched Wiesberger's 66 to be in a share of the lead, where they were joined by Korea's Yikeun Chang, Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal and Finland’s Lauri Ruuska. At 38, Larrazábal is a decade younger than Bland and Mickelson but still managed to put his experience to good use. "I’m getting older," he said. "I just turned 38 and these guys are 20-21, hitting 50 yards longer than me. In conditions like these, in tricky conditions, everything levels out. It’s all about grinding out there and hitting shots and knowing how to move the ball from right to left, left to right, low, high. It’s not a bomber’s course. This is a European Tour golf course."

Ruuska's remarkable debut

Ruuska usually plies his trade in the Nordic Golf League but was handed a National Spot exemption this week. That gave the Finn a chance to make his European Tour debut and he grabbed it with both hands, making an ace on the 16th and claiming a share of the first round lead.

"A remarkable career"

This is the first chance to gather the thoughts of Mickelson's colleagues on his incredible win at Kiawah Island. Safe to say they were impressed.