Axelsen was born in
Holbæk, Denmark and was introduced to golf by his father when he was 5. At a young age, Axelsen showed considerable talent, winning English boys under-13 (Reid Trophy) and medals at the European Boys under-16 championship (European Young Masters) in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2014, Axelsen was the first Danish boy to play in the
Junior Ryder Cup, after winning the
McGregor Trophy during which he set a new course record at
Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club and also a new tournament record. In 2016 he was selected again but opted instead to play for Denmark at the
Eisenhower Trophy in
Cancun, Mexico. At the age of 16, Axelsen was selected as the youngest-ever male player to play for the Danish National Men's team at the
European Amateur Team Championship in Finland. He twice won bronze at the European Team Championship with the Danish team, in 2016 and 2018. Axelsen won the Danish International Amateur Championship three times, in 2014, 2017 and 2018, becoming the first player to win the event three times. In 2016, Axelsen received a wild card to the
Made in Denmark event on the
European Tour. He made the cut and finished 40th at 282, 2-under-par. Axelsen was a member of the first Danish team to win the World Amateur Team Championship (
Eisenhower Trophy) in
2018 in Ireland together with brothers
Rasmus Højgaard and
Nicolai Højgaard. During the event he shot the event's lowest round of 8 under par. Axelsen was the joint lowest scorer in the stroke-play qualification for the 2019
Amateur Championship at
Portmarnock Golf Club in Ireland. As an amateur he was the number one ranked player European Golf Rankings at under-14, under-16, under-18, under-21 and ranked second in the men's rankings before turning professional. He was also ranked number one in the Danish Golf Union Rankings at under-16, under-18, under-21 and men's level, where he already as 16 was the highest ranked men's player in Denmark Axelsen attended the
University of Florida from 2017 to May 2020, leaving before his senior year to turn professional. He was part of both Golfweeks NCAA All-American Team, First team and GCAA's NCAA Division I All-American Team, First team, with the second-best scoring average in University of Florida's program history. ==Professional career==