Søren Hansen, who learned his craft at Simon’s Golf Club before joining The European Tour, will play in the final group of the inaugural Nordic Open with Colin Montgomerie, who has forgotten more about the Tour than most of his peers will ever learn. Both players finished a glorious sun-drenched day in Copenhagen on 199, 17 under par.
Hansen carries the home support, not unnaturally since he still practices at the club during his breaks from life on Tour. Practice made perfect in the third round when he equaled Raphaël Jacquelin’s three day old course record of 62, ten under par.
Not to be out-done, however, Montgomerie matched Hansen’s run of four successive birdies to close the day, carding an eight under par 64 to squeeze into the last group on Sunday, a position he loves passionately but had not experienced too often of late.
A high quality leaderboard is completed by the proximity to the leaders of four-time European Tour winner, Ian Poulter of England, who signed for a fine 65 in the third round, halfway leader Gregory Havret of France and another Englishman in David Gilford, who is seeking his first victory in almost a decade.
Hansen represents the host nation’s best opportunity of sourcing a winner of the first Nordic Open, Thomas Björn having experienced a frustrating day at the office with a level par 72 and an eight under par total of 208 – nine adrift of his fellow countryman and the voraciously hungry Montgomerie.
“It’s been a long time since I was in this position” admitted the Scot, who has accumulated 27 European Tour titles in his 13 years on Tour. “When I won the Volvo Masters last year I was three behind going into the last day, but it’s nice to come back after three weeks off with the wrist injury and find some kind of form. This augurs well for next week.
“Tomorrow is a very important day for me and I’m looking forward to it. I seem to have found a nice putting touch and yes, of course, a win would give me a lot of confidence going to the US PGA Championship. The game is based on confidence and I remember winning at Slaley Hall in 1997 and going to the US Open at Congressional and shooting 65 to lead by three.”
Whether Montgomerie can make history repeat itself may well depend on the performance of 29 year old Hansen, who seemed to be carried along on a tide of emotional, patriotic support on the fairways where he grew up. The Nordic Open without a Danish challenger was unthinkable, and Hansen was happy to oblige his happy band of followers.
The ‘Pied Piper’ of Copenhagan bagged ten birdies and shot symmetrical halves of 31 for his utterly composed 62. Four birdies to finish almost seemed like showing off on greens where he knows every little nuance. Montgomerie, typically, tried to reclaim the bragging rights by emulating that closing burst 60 minutes later.
Hansen said: “I mentioned at the start of the weekend that it was important for a Dane to be up at the top of the leaderboard. It’s very important for the tournament and for Danish golf. This could be the springboard to something big.”
He added: “I felt confident. It’s my home course and I know every bump and bounce. I played great golf today and made a lot of putts. I knew the lines before I even got to the putts and I was just walking around the greens for show, really!”
Havret, the 36 –hole leader, looked like dropping out of the picture but eagled the 12th on his way to a round of 69 and total of 200. Gilford, his playing partner, birdied the last three holes for 67 and the same aggregate.
Poulter meanwhile, picked up seven birdies but couldn’t quite make hay while the sun shone over the closing stretch, as he failed to birdie either of the two par fives to close. He commented: “It’s going very nicely after a week off. It’s just a shame I couldn’t pick up another couple of birdies at the end but 16 under par is definitely in there with a shout.”
