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Five things to know: British Open first-round standout Jacob Skov Olesen

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Jacob Skov Olesen chases lead with chip-in birdie at The Open

Jacob Skov Olesen chases lead with chip-in birdie at The Open

    Written by Paul Hodowanic

    PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – It’s an annual tradition at The Open Championship to see an unlikely name rise up the leaderboard in the first round. This year’s surprise clubhouse leader at Royal Portrush was Jacob Skov Olesen, a 26-year-old Danish golfer with full status on the DP World Tour.

    Skov Olesen shot an opening round 4-under 67 to take an early lead at The Open. He made the turn in 1-under, then added a birdie on the 10th and an eagle at the 12th to jump into the lead. He birdied the 15th to briefly get to 5-under, before dropping a shot on the 18th to finish 4-under.

    So, who is Jacob Skov Olesen?

    Let’s get to know the early leader of The Open Championship. Here are five things to know:

    Notable amateur career

    Skov Olesen became the first Danish man to win The Amateur Championship (the United Kingdom’s equivalent of the U.S. Amateur) in 2024, topping Dominic Clemons 4 and 3. He won that week at Ballyliffin Golf Club in Ireland, 60 miles from Royal Portrush, perhaps a preview that he favors the duneswept links landscape just west of Great Britain.

    “I guess that’s something I’ll have forever, which is super cool,” Skov Olesen said. “I hope it can inspire someone else from Denmark to win next year or maybe some other years in the future.”

    Recent winners of The Amateur include PGA TOUR winner Aldrich Potgieter and Christo Lamprecht, a current Korn Ferry Tour member, and Ethan Fang, who is in the field this week at Royal Portrush. Olesen turned professional at the start of the year.

    Olesen attended Ranger College as a freshman, a small community college in Texas. He quickly showed his level was higher than that of the competition, winning the NJCAA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award and transferring to Texas Christian University. He spent three years at TCU before finishing his career at the University of Arkansas. He earned All-American honors there and played for the International team in the 2024 Palmer Cup.

    Unique part of The Open history

    Olesen made his Open Championship debut in 2024, exempt into the event because of his win at The Amateur, and wasted no time in making a piece of quirky history.

    After opening in 5-over 76, Skov Olesen played his second round perfectly even-par, making 18 pars in a row. There were no circles or squares on the card, just an impressive run of pars. The round helped Olesen make the cut, eventually finishing in a tie for 60th.



    Once turned down Masters invite to turn pro

    Another perk of Skov Olesen’s win at The Amateur was a spot in the 2025 Masters, but Skov Olesen turned it down.

    It wasn’t for a lack of interest, but Skov Olesen had to prioritize his pro career over one tournament, banking on the fact that his talent would get him back there eventually. As the winner of The Amateur, Skov Olesen earned a spot, but only if he remained an amateur.

    Skov Olesen, 25 at the time, decided he couldn’t afford to wait that long to turn pro. He relinquished his amateur status after earning his DP World Tour card through qualifying school. Thus, he lost his spot in the Masters and the U.S. Open.

    “Having a good start to the season here on the DP World Tour made it a little easier to watch from the sidelines because that kind of proved that I made the right decision,” he told the DP World Tour. “Of course I wanted to be there, but it wasn’t meant to be this time.”

    Part of an impressive group of young Danes

    No Danish golfer has ever won on the PGA TOUR, but the recent group of young Danes in professional golf should have as good a chance as any.



    Skov Olesen, 26, is part of a growing contingent of young, accomplished Danish golfers. The headliners from the country are the Højgaard twins, Rasmus and Nicolai, both full-time members on TOUR at age 24. Skov Olesen is a full-time member on the DP World Tour alongside another emerging Dane, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. Neergaard-Petersen, 26, finished runner-up to Karl Villips at this year’s Puerto Rico Open, nearly jumpstarting his career and taking the title as the first Dane to win on TOUR. Neergaard-Petersen is currently just outside the projected top 10 who earn their TOUR card via the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings.

    Occasional Ladies European Tour caddie

    In his off weeks on the DP World Tour, it’s not uncommon to find Skov Olesen caddying on the Ladies European Tour. Skov Olesen has caddied for his girlfriend and fellow professional golfer Darcey Harry. Harry won her first Ladies European Title – the Belgian Ladies Open in June – with Skov Olesen carrying the bag.

    “She was in Belgium with me for the Soudal Open for the weekend and I wanted to do the same for her,” he told the DP World Tour. “She’d just said goodbye to her caddie, so needed a different one and asked if I wanted to help her out and I was happy to do that.”

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