Who is Jacob Skov Olesen? All about the 26-YO leading The Open 2025 after Round 1

Jacob Skov Olesen is currently playing in the 2025 Open Championship in Royal Portrush. The professional golfer's performance at the 153rd edition of this major championship has put him in the lead.

The 26-year-old is a young golfer from Denmark. On Thursday, he scored four birdies, two bogeys, and one Eagle to finish his first round with a total of 4 under par 67. Last year in November, Olesen turned professional after finishing the European Qualifying School and hence securing his DP World Tour card.

Apart from showcasing an impressive effort at the British Open, Jacob Skov Olesen holds strong records as an amateur golfer. Olesen became the first Dane to secure a victory in the 2024 Amateur Championship.

Back in 2016, he won the International Juniors of Belgium and was even a runner-up at the English Boys Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship. From 2017 to 2020, Jacob Skov Olesen bagged multiple bronze medals at the Danish National Championships.

He represented his country in the 2017 Junior Golf World Cup and the 2023 Eisenhower Trophy. When he attended Ranger College, Olesen won the NJCAA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award. From 2020 to 2023, Olesen was at Texas Christian University.

Olesen became a co-medalist at the Prestige in 2021. During the 2023-24 season, the University of Arkansas ace became an All-American. Jacob Skov Olesen's historic 4-and-3 win against Dominic Clemons at the 2024 Amateur Championship earned him a spot at last year's British Open.

The golfer from Roskilde ended the event at Royal Troon at T60, tied with Mickelson and Brian Harman.

Jacob Skov Olesen shares details about his game during The Open practice round

Olesen is teeing off at the Open Championship for the second time in his career. A day before the first round, the DP World Tour pro was spending time practicing at this golf venue.

In a video shared by TenGolf on YouTube, Jacob Skov Olesen was spotted talking with the press following his practice round before The Open. The Danish professional said (around 5:36):

"I'd say the start. As a lefty, the right to left wind isn't the nicest wind for me. I've been working on it. I thought I did fairly well on those holes. I felt like if I could make some pars on those right to left wind holes, then that would be good."

Olesen also shared his idea about how his left-handed nature causes a hurdle at times.

"Especially hole three with that front on the right. As a lefty with the wind off the right, it's really hard to try and hit a high draw up. It's hard to get it to really stop compared to if you can hold a little softer cut up into it."

As of this writing, Olesen is topping the 153rd Open Championship leaderboard with a total of 4 under par after the first 18 holes.

Edited by Rupesh