Golf’s Diminutive Dane, Looking To Stand Tall In His First Full Champions Tour Season.

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I still recall the occasion back in June 2003 when this diminutive, fresh-faced looking Danish-born golfer Soren Kjeldsen held on to capture the 2003 Diaego Championship in Scotland.

Seemingly home and dry after carding a 67 to reach nine under par on Saturday, the then 28-year-old Kjeldsen saw his overnight five-stroke lead cut to two during a stuttering front nine at Gleneagles.

Of course, the overwhelming Scottish crowd wanted a fellow first Scot to lift the trophy in what was then the fifth hosting of what would be 15 tournaments staged at Gleneagles.

The 5-foot, 7-inch Dane knuckled down on the back nine, returned to level par for the day and closed out a two-shot victory over Scottish home soil favourite in Alastair Forsyth.

Former Ryder Cup man Paul Broadhurst claimed third place, his best finish since 1999, on six under, and Colin Montgomerie was a shot further back on five under after birdieing the last two holes.

Five years later, Kjeldsen really stamped his DP World Tour credentials capturing the season-ending Volvo Masters by denying up-and-coming Martin Kaymer who has already won twice earlier in 2008, with the German superstar golfer capturing nine other Tour titles including a PGA Championship and a US Open.

Kjeldsen tasted further DP World Tour success at the 2009 Andalucian Masters and winning the 2015 Irish Open in a play-off at famed Royal County Down.

A year later he and fellow Dane Thomas Bjorn combined to win the World Cup of Golf.

Kjeldsen last played on the DP World Tour at the 2025 Turkish Airlines Open, and in what was his 713th Tour start and while missing the halfway cut, it was a career that earned him Euro 16.6m in prize-money.

In December 2024, Kjeldsen won the PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tournament, earning a tour card once he turns 50 in May 2025. In early 2025, he played on the Nordic Golf League as a warm up for the upcoming PGA Tour Champions season. He went on to claim victory in the Infinitum Spring Series Final.

GolfByTourMiss was delighted not only to catch-up with Kjeldsen, and one of the nicest guys in golf but also Alistair Matheson, and along with Kevin’ Woody’ Woodward, one of his long-time caddies, ahead of this week’s Chubb Classic here in Naples, Florida.

This week marks the start of is first full Champions Tour season after having joined the Tour in turning 50 in last July last year.

“Being here on the Champions Tour has been really good for me, as I really know a lot of people out here but Alastair knows everybody”, he said smiling.

“It’s just been really helpful for me to not only have a great caddy in Alastair while he’s also a good friend, and that has made life so much easier.

“I’ve found the Champions Tour to be really friendly but then it is very much competitive out here and with everyone working hard and looking to play well, and win.  As well, most of the players are at that stage in their lives when it’s also important to have a good time, as well.

“So, you’ll find everyone is a little more relaxed and it’s just a great tour”.

This week in Naples, Flordia is Kjeldsen’s 18th Champions Tour start having kick-started the next chapter in his golfing career last July with a T8th result at the Senior PGA Championship.

The effort was the harbinger of a super rookie season for the Dane picking-up two seconds and a third among seven top-10 finishes, and missing the cut in one of the 17 events he contested.

“When I look back to my last few years on the DP World Tour I was just so short off the tee compared to the younger guys I was teeing-up alongside,” he said.

“So, playing against those young guys was tough and that’s why it is so nice to come out here to the Champions Tour as we also play on some great golf courses, and they are normal courses.  They’re not like monsters.

“Now with my first full season to commence this week, I also look back realising I’ve been a pro since 1995, so it’s been a long time but I still love it and wouldn’t have swapped it for the world.

“I just love golf.  That’s the bottom line and I just can’t get enough of it.

“I haven’t played since last December at the Skechers World Champions Cup event at Clearwater, which was an incredible team event, and while I enjoyed being at home but the last few weeks I was looking forward to get going again.

“I stayed with Alex Cejka last week in Palm Beach and now that I am over here for the Chubb, I am excited to get going again”.

While it’s very clear Kjeldsen is loving this new career challenge, we took the opportunity to ask him his thoughts on the state of the men’s pro game.

“Men’s pro golf has been a mess the last few years and I’ve been really sad to see that”, he said.

“At the same time, it seems not that after COVID golf is really booming and people want to get out there and play golf which is great but then there’s been this ….. so it’s not been really good.

“I also look to my own country and there is so many young Danish players headed by the Hojgaard twins, Nicola and Rasmus as they’ve been playing so well.  There’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen winning the Australian Open at the end of last year while we’ve got four on the PGA Tour now and they’ve each had good starts.

“It doesn’t matter what level you look at Denmark has a lot of players that are doing well while the girls are also doing well on the various ladies tours, so it’s all very positive”.

 

 



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