The Danish Golf Championship at the Great Northern has wrapped up its opening round, with France’s Félix Mory leading the field. But the $3 million event also had one unexpected participant. Jonas Baumgartner, a German professional golfer, who, just 20 minutes before tee time, didn’t even know he would be part of the 144-player field.
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“I was first reserve on Monday, so I flew over from the States and didn’t get here until about 6:30 pm on Tuesday,” Baumgartner told DP World Tour.
Following Joakim Lagergren’s withdrawal on Monday, Baumgartner had arrived on-site as the first reserve. He had to spend around 48 hours in limbo, but then an unfortunate injury to Richie Ramsay opened the door. Baumgartner, who is ranked No. 917 in the OWGR, arrived in the country on Tuesday but still managed to squeeze in some practice ahead of the tournament.
“I managed to get nine holes in yesterday and then walked the other nine. I waited all day pretty much, warmed up twice, not knowing if I’d get a chance.”
As the first tee approached, he had given up hope of competing at the event. However, that’s when his phone rang.
“I was pretty much about to, well, not leaving, but resting in the locker room for about 10 minutes, then I got a call saying, ’You’re up in 20 minutes!’ It was quite the change in emotions.”
Despite the short notice, Jonas Baumgartner didn’t let the 20 minutes go to waste.
“The range is pretty far away, so I hit a few putts and mentally got ready, as I felt mentally out of it,” he added. “We got to the third-to-last group, not a high chance of getting in anymore. But then I was like got to get the game mode on!”
While the 23-year-old didn’t storm to the top of the leaderboard in the opening round, he did manage to finish with an even-par 72. He opened with a bogey on the first hole but quickly bounced back with birdies on the second and fourth. Baumgartner appeared set to finish the round at 1-under, but a bogey on the final hole dropped him back to even par.
His latest appearance on the DP World Tour comes three years after his last appearance in 2023. He earned his Korn Ferry Tour card in 2025 and has since made 23 starts, making the cut in just seven events. He has also competed on the PGA Tour Americas, where he has made 10 starts and survived the cut five times.
Regardless, this is hardly the first time any player has found themselves in Baumgartner’s position. John Daly learned he had a spot in the 1991 PGA Championship only hours before the first round when Nick Price withdrew after his wife went into labor. Arriving at Crooked Stick without a practice round, the ninth alternate blasted his way to a three-stroke victory.
He even captured his first Tour title and major championship in a Cinderella story that instantly made the ‘Wild Thing’ a household name. But it’s yet to be seen whether the 23-year-old has a similar fate.