Danes blaze trail our own players would love to follow

They sure are “Great Danes”. World champions in both the professional and amateur games, a winning Ryder Cup captain and player and now a second Alfred Dunhill Links Championship success in four years.

These are dizzy days for Danish golf and, at a time when the Scottish game in comparison is suffering a bit of a dip in the amateur ranks and at the top level in the paid game, can we learn anything from what has helped the likes of Thorbjorn Olesen and Lucas Bjerregaard come along behind Thomas Bjorn and also Soren Kjeldsen?

“I’m not sure what the secret is, but us Danes are good at working hard, putting the hours in,” Bjerregaard told The Scotsman as he savoured his St Andrews success on Sunday. “I don’t know if it is a Danish thing as much as a European thing. You saw how they all came together (in the Ryder Cup) last week.

“They are the best players in the world, but it was as if they took their game to another level. We had a strong Danish squad when I grew up and I think we’re good at coming together.”

Something is certainly working in the country that apparently boasts the happiest people on the planet. We could do with a similar feelgood factor in Scotland and our frustration is perhaps compounded by the fact that Bjerregaard and Olesen have been helped in becoming multiple European Tour winners by a Scot – their Surrey-based coach Hugh Marr!