Meet the golfer with Scottish name who will be flying Danish flag on DP World Tour

Yet Hamish Brown was born in Denmark, has lived there all his life and will be playing on the DP World Tour next season flying a flag with a white Nordic cross on it rather than one with a Saltire.

His dad, Marcus, hails from Perthshire but moved to Denmark just under 30 years ago and is the club professional at Aalborg in the north of the country.

With golf in his blood, it was no surprise that Brown jnr decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and the 25-year-old has joined the long list of talented players being produced by the Danes. He’s won twice on the Challenge Tour this season and sits third in the Road to Mallorca rankings heading into this week’s Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A at Club de Golf Alcanada in Port d’Alcudia.

While Scottish duo Euan Walker and Daniel Young, sitting 24th and 27th respectively, have work to do to finish inside the all-important top 22 on this occasion, it’s already job done for Brown, who sports a St Andrews Centre of Excellence logo on his shirt, in terms of securing a step up to the main tour.

“It’s no different than a normal week but with no pressure for me,” he said with a smile. “Obviously I want to finish as high as I possibly can, but I’ve had a good year and we’ll just see how it goes. “You’d love to win the rankings and I certainly would and that’s what I am here to do, but, if I don’t, fair enough but what happens happens - it’s not too stressful really.”

His name is certainly a dead giveaway to his Scottish roots, with his father having been born in Blairgowrie while his grandparents were from Perth. “My dad moved to Denmark in 1985 and I have lived there all my life,” said the recent Hainan Open winner after making his breakthrough on the second-tier circuit in the Kaskada Golf Challenge in June. “He moved to Copenhagen initially before getting the job at Aalborg, where we are based now, in 1995 and we’ve been there ever since.”

Referring to Scotland, he added: “My parents still have a house over there and they go there quite frequently. I’m not there too much any more, but, when I am, I enjoy it as I have a lot of friends and family over there while my dad’s best friend lives in St Andrews.”

He must surely have people wondering if he’s been listed playing for the right country when they either see or hear his name? “Especially in the UK,” he admitted. “They look at my name and see the country I am representing and they say ‘is that right?’ 

“In Denmark, it’s obviously not very common and I am probably the only one with that name, so it can lead to different pronunciations from Danish people. But I don’t mind. It’s what I’ve lived with and I wouldn’t change it.”

It’s certainly not done him any harm whatsoever playing his golf in Denmark at a time when success after success has been delivered by Danish players, led in recent years, of course, by the Hojgaard twins - Nicolai and Rasmus.

This season, meanwhile, has seen Niklas Norgaard also become a DP World Tour winner with his triumph in the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry. And, in addition to Brown’s brace of victories on the Challenge Tour, a hat-trick of successes there for Rasmus Neergaard Petersen secured him automatic promotion to the main tour. 

“I think the competition we’ve all had growing up has definitely been a factor,” said Brown of the sizzling streak being enjoyed by players flying the Danish flag. “It’s been great since we were 14 and 15 and still is to this day. You can give credit to the Danish Golf Union and the club coaches who have made the players and I think the environment they’ve created has helped a lot. People just try to beat each other in a good way and that’s led to amazing things, to be honest.

“You’ve seen Rasmus this year and Niklas as well and obviously the twins as well and Thorbjorn [Olesen] and Thomas [Bjorn], too, doing well now on the Champions Tour. It’s all over and, yeah, I just think it’s a case of success breeding success and it then comes down the ladder.”

Do they have a magic formula? “I think it’s a mix of everything,” insisted Brown. “At least from what I have experienced, the technical coaching of the national team has benefited me a lot. It’s not everybody who benefits from it, but it just makes you a better player as a whole when you get to have the opportunity to have different experiences as an amateur.

“Like going outside of Denmark to play in events while some go to college in the States. I still look back on amateur events and think ‘I learned so much from this or that’ and I think that’s what you need in amateur golf, getting different kinds of competition. 

“It’s obviously good playing with your friends and mates locally, but you need to expand it more and more and I think they have done that well, just giving us the opportunities to go out and play.”

As Brown prepares to get his DP World Tour career started, another Dane, Soren Kjeldsen, has just brought down the curtain on his one after 27 consecutive seasons on the circuit. He won four times and racked up 712 appearances.

“He’s the definition of a grinder and he’s a great man and a great golfer,” said Brown of his compatriot. “He’s had a fantastic career, having kept his card for 27 years. Not a lot of people have done that and he’s played in 741 events or whatever. That is a mega number to me and I double I’ll get that many. He’s a great example of having an incredible work ethic.”

Based on the fact that 15 of the 20 players to graduate from the Challenge Tour 12 months ago have now retained DP World Tour cards for 2025, Brown must feel quietly confident that he can hit the ground running when the new season starts next month.

“I hope so,” he said with a smile. “Some of the events we play in are not far off the DP World Tour set-up wise and the element of difficulty. Obviously there are a few more people at DP World Tour events, but I feel the golf part is very much like it is out here.

“Obviously the golf courses are going to get tougher, but that’s fine as you are prepared for it. It’s bit different from the Nordic League, for example. I got a few beatings last year, when I didn’t play great. Was I ready? Yes, but I wasn’t ready for what you need to do to play well at this level.”

Having been signed by Excel Sports, the management company that has Tiger Woods as its star golf client, Brown is being looked after by Rhys Davies, the Edinburgh-born Welshman who was a top amateur in his day and won the Hassan Trophy on the DP World Tour before deciding on a change of career direction in the game.

“It’s nice,” said Brown of being represented by Excel. “We had our first chat two years ago when I was still an amateur and it was nice to know I was on someone’s radar. I played well that year and then turned pro after the Eisenhower Trophy and we had a sitdown again last December for this season. I think it is really beneficial for me just to have someone to talk to and get help from basically. Rhys is a good player himself and he has basically seen everything and it’s nice to have him around.”

As for his dad, Brown likes the fact they concentrate on a dad and son relationship rather than a coach and player one.

“I don’t use him on the coaching side,” he said. “I use Thomas Larsson, the Danish national coach. But my dad is still a very big part of my golf and I like how it is. I like to separate dad and coach; I don’t want to mix the two together too much. 

“I want to keep straight lines. He’s not a bad coach and he knows what he has to say. He’s made me what I am so he knows what he is doing. But I just felt that it is a better way to do it. Would I have got into golf if it hadn’t been for him? I doubt it, but I am kind of happy I did it.”