Jeff Winther repelled fellow countryman Rasmus Hojgaard to end a five-year winless drought for a second DP World Tour title with victory at a tightly-contested Danish Golf Championship.
The 38-year-old, whose previous DP World Tour success came at the 2021 Mallorca Golf Open, entered the final round at Great Northern Golf Club four shots off overnight leader Romain Langasque but fought his way into contention with back-to-back birdies at the 4th and 5th but that early momentum dissipated with bogeys at the 6th and 8th. Yet due to the tightly-packed leaderboard which saw eight players with at least the share of the lead at various points on the day, Winther was never completely out of the running. The Dane responded with successive birdies at the 9th and 10th, quickly followed by another at the 13th to place himself tied at the top of the leaderboard.
His closest challenger during the latter stages was fellow Dane and former winner Rasmus Hojgaard who came back from five shots down at the beginning of the round to produce a late surge for the title with birdies at the 15th and 16th before chipping in for eagle at the 17th to tie with Winther and put the pressure on his fellow countryman. But Winther kept his cool with a sublime 31-foot eagle putt at the 16th to respond in the spectacular fashion to reclaim his solo lead. Consecutive pars at the 17th and 18th were enough to end his round with a 5-under 67, finish on 15 under, and seal his second career DP World Tour victory.
“[It’s] impossible to rank this,” Winther said. “Just after my kids’ birth. It was amazing.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I’m overly happy; we’ve been clapped off on every single green. Even when we hit poor shots. Still getting clapped off! The crowds carried me all week. It’s been unbelievable.”
Victory means he joins Hojgaard as the only two Danish winners of the event and also the second Dane to win on the 2026 Race to Dubai following Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen who came on top at the Crown Australian Open.
Hojgaard, who claimed a share of the runner-up spot two shots off Winther on 13 under after carding a 3-under 69 displayed his disappointment on his overall final round display.
“I didn’t expect to be in the position I was in coming down the last hole,” Højgaard said. “To be honest, I struggled with my game all day. I made a few birdies and holed out, and then you’re in the mix again.
“But I finished with a bogey, and that put more pressure on.
“I’d say when I made birdie on the 16th, I felt I could put up a good chance on 17, and then I’d be 12 under and potentially 13 under would have a chance.
“It was great to put myself in positions where I had a chance. But it’s not a great feeling right now.”
Hojgaard was joined in second by China’s Yanhan Zou, Italy’s Filippo Celli, England’s Matthew Jordan and Finland’s Oliver Lindell.
What is the next event?
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule is Nexo Championship taking place between 20-23 August at Trump International Golf Links in Scotland.