The Dane went into the final round with a two-shot lead before making birdies at the first, second and sixth to stretch his advantage early on.

Six successive pars in the middle of Olesen’s round allowed his countryman and playing partner Nicolai Højgaard to close the gap to two strokes once more, but the 33-year-old responded with a hat-trick of birdies from the 13th to move five clear with three holes to play.

And he safely parred his way home to sign for a bogey-free 66 and finish the tournament on 24 under par.

The win continues Olesen’s fine record of converting 54-hole leads into victories, having now achieved the feat six times on the DP World Tour.

Germany’s Yannik Paul finished alone in second place on 20-under after finishing his 68 with a birdie.

Joost Luiten and Alexander Knappe were in a tie for third another two shots further back.

Olesen got off to a fantastic start on Sunday, sending his approach at the first to around four feet before tapping in for an opening birdie.

He followed that up with another gain on the second and then moved to 21 under with a five-foot birdie putt at the sixth.

Olesen had to settle for pars on the next six holes before getting his fourth birdie of the day at the par-three 13th, rolling in from around 20 feet to restore the three-shot lead he had held at the turn.

He then sent his approach to a similar distance on the 14th before holing from long range once again to climb to 23-under.

And he made it three birdies in a row from close range on the par-five 15th before making a good par save at the 16th, having missed the fairway with his tee-shot.

After a long wait at the 17th tee, Olesen safely found the island green before two-putting for par and he also parred the last to keep his card clean.

Olesen, whose previous victory had come at last year’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, was delighted to return to the winner’s circle.

He said: “It’s very special. Obviously the British Masters win was incredible, with my family, and it had been a long time since I won the last time.

“But equally this one, all the hard work and all the sacrifice from my wife. It’s really nice.”

Olesen was pleased with his performance on Sunday, adding: “It felt really good today, felt steady, I felt like I was in control and I just enjoyed playing golf today, which was very nice.”

Meanwhile, Olesen’s fellow Dane Oliver Hundebøll won a BMW iX xDrive40 after he made a hole-in-one at the par-three 13th on his way to a closing 67.

The post Thorbjørn Olesen storms to four-shot victory in Thailand appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
SUTTON COLDFIELD, England — When Thorbjørn Olesen reached the 17th tee on The Belfry’s Brabazon Course in the final round of the Betfred British Masters, victory looked unlikely. Leader since day one, the Dane was four over par for the day, seven under for the tournament and two shots adrift of Sebastian Soderberg.

With a closing 68, the Danish had posted an aggregate of 279, what for long enough amidst much sloppiness by a host of challengers appeared for all the world like the winning score.

One man had faith though. Standing on the 17th tee, Olesen’s caddie, Dom Bott, turned to his man and uttered the now memorable phrase: “A repeat of what you did yesterday would help.”

Which, as it turned out, is just what Olesen did. A 28-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 17th disappeared into the cup, leaving the former Ryder Cup player needing a birdie on the 497-yard par-4 18th to claim his sixth DP World Tour title. As much as 35 feet away for birdie after his approach to the three-tiered green, Olesen—what else?—rolled it in again. Game over.

“It was obviously a pretty tough day,” was Olesen’s initial reaction. “I hit a lot of shots to the left. I was really struggling. But somehow, I kept going. And yeah, what a finish. Incredible. Standing on 17, I’m thinking I can make birdie, birdie and maybe get into a playoff. But obviously, when I got the chance on 17, I took it. Even then, 18 is a tough hole, one where par is a good score obviously. I just gave it everything.”

Eagle-Birdie finish ?@Thorbjornolesen made two consecutive putts of 30ft and 36ft to win for the first time in four years.

#BetfredBritishMasters pic.twitter.com/Vj7BrU6ZGb

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 8, 2022

Later, after being doused in champagne on the 18th green by his compatriots, the identical Hojgaard twins, Rasmus and Nicolai, Olesen had a little more to add. Not that he found it easy. Understandably emotional only eight months after being cleared of wrongdoing after alleged incidents on a flight from the U.S. to London saw him end up in a court of law, Olesen was close to tears more than once.

“I have so much emotions,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I won. I was really struggling out there. I just didn’t have it. But somehow, I kept on fighting, made some pars and saw I still had a chance with two to play.

“My life the last two years has been extremely hard. But I’ve had some great people around me. Especially [partner] Lauren in some really tough times. She kept me going. It was so tough, which makes this so special. My family, too, my parents and my brother. They all stood behind me. I felt like I was never going to win again, even play again. Standing here after a lot of hard work means so much.

“Holing two putts like that gives you so much confidence. And now I know I can still do it. Even with all the emotions I had in my head today.”

Thorbjørn Olesen is hugged by competitor and tournament host Danny Willett. Ross Kinnaird

The same cannot, however, be said of nearly every one of the stream of challengers who came up just short on a day when the best score was 68.

Needing a par on the 72nd hole that would have seen him into a playoff with Olesen, former U.S. Amateur champion Richie Ramsay found water when his planned 217-yard approach to the distant green flew no more than 170 yards—“I was aiming to ride it on the wind and I just duffed it.” The Scot eventually made double bogey and finished T-2 with, as it turned out four others.

Justin Walters, who lost a playoff for the ISPS Handa Championship on this same course back in 2020, was left ruing the bogey 6 he made on the 15th. The Englishman’s 71 was two shots too many.

American Chase Hanna required a birdie-birdie conclusion to his day but took a 6 on the par-5 17th to effectively end his hopes.

Hurly Long needed what would have been only the fifth birdie of the day on the 18th to tie what was then the lead, but hit his ball two times too many.

Indeed, amongst the eventually unavailing list of challengers, only Scotland’s Connor Syme finished with anything that could be construed as forward momentum. But the three successive birdies he made from the 15th were still two shots too many and too little, too late for the former Australian amateur champion.

Which left Soderberg. In contrast to all but Syme, the Swede’s back nine of 32 blows looked for all the world would be good enough for him to win for the second time on tour.

But it wasn’t. Not quite. A fact that only one man saw coming.

“Standing on the 17th tee, I knew Thorbjorn could still do it,” claimed Bott. “I know what he is like in situation like that. He loves a crowd.”

And the last two holes at The Belfry, of course.

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The post Incredibly, Thorbjorn Olesen repeats eagle-birdie finish to capture British Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan

It was on December 8, 2021 that Thorbjorn Olesen got his life back. He hasn’t quite found his game yet, but he’s getting there. Six months after being cleared of sexual assault, assault by beating and being inebriated on a July 2019 British Airways flight between the United States and London, the 31-year-old Dane leads the British Masters at The Belfry. On a low-scoring day at the four-time Ryder Cup venue in the English Midlands, Olesen’s six-under-par 66 is tied for the lead alongside Ras Al Khaimah champion Ryan Fox, one shot better than Ashan Wu of China, Germany’s Hurly Long and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay.

Still, for all that he was clearly happy with his play, Olesen’s body language betrayed a lingering wariness when he was approached by the waiting media. The charges levelled against him may be a thing of his past, but they clearly remain a source of some embarrassment to the man who defeated Jordan Spieth 5&4 at the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le National, Paris. Happy enough to talk about his bogey-free round, Olesen looked like a man waiting for the inevitably awkward question to land.

He needn’t have worried. Unsavory it may be, his behavior in the wake of his departure from the 2019 WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational — where he finished T-27 — is increasingly old news. More current was the post-round assessment of his play that contrasted greatly with his performances so far this year. In seven previous starts in 2022, Olesen has missed two cuts, his best finish T-12 at the Qatar Masters. So there is plenty of evidence to back up his own view that he still has a ways to go if he is to add to his tally of five DP World Tour titles.

“I’m still far from it,” said the 376th best golfer on the planet in response to a query as to how his present game compares with March 2013, when he was a member of the world’s top 40. “But I’ve been working really hard the last couple of months. I changed coaches [the new man is Liam James] and have been working on a couple of different things. I’ve also been looking at a lot of videos from when I was playing my best. We have talked a lot about that and how we can get back to where I was. But it will take a lot of hard work. I’ve not been working hard enough for a few years to be at that level, so I know there is a lot of work to be done.”

Moving right along, Olesen was prepared to only briefly venture into the mental turmoil he has endured since the charges that threatened to end his playing career.

“There have been certain points when I wasn’t sure if I could get back to the level I reached,” he said. “It comes down to confidence and belief, and there have been a few hard days. But I feel I am on the right track now and starting to get a team together that is helping me. That is very important.”

How the rest of his week pans out, of course, is anyone’s guess. It’s been a while since Olesen has been in contention for what would be his first victory since the 2018 Italian Open.

“I should have some years left in me … hopefully the best years in me,” he said with a brief smile. “I still have a lot of goals and that’s why I’ve started to work hard again. I want to get back to winning and back up the world rankings. Since January, it’s been a different work ethic than I had the last couple of years. You can’t compete out here if you haven’t put the hours in.”

All good, all positive, but there was a mild sting in the tail of the interview. Olesen handled it well, even if his eyes betrayed a brief moment of panic.

“Do you feel like a different person as well as a different golfer from a couple of years ago?” asked a writer.

“It’s hard to say,” was the initially hesitant response. “Probably a different golfer right now for sure, but we’ll see.”

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The post DP World Tour: Thorbjorn Olesen is trying to move on from off-course incident, if his game will cooperate at British Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
The DP World Tour gets rolling again with a double-header in Spain, beginning on Thursday with the ISPS Handa Championship in Tarragona. While East Asia has continued to suffer a lack of golf events due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, Spain — in this case — is definitely the beneficiary.

The latest addition to the calendar will be held at Infinitum Golf and was created to plug the gap created by the pandemic-enforced postponement of the tournament with the same name in Japan. It precedes the Catalunya Championship in Girona, which is another one-off event replacing the Volvo China Open.

So after a few weeks off and a jaunt to the Masters at Augusta National for the top players on the DP World Tour, it is a timely return to Spain to mark the 50th anniversary of the tour back where it all began.

The European Tour, as it was then known, started with the 1972 Spanish Open at Club Golf de Pals in Girona, where home stars Antonio Garrido and a certain Seve Ballesteros began the revolution of European golf.

Just like that first Spanish Open, the 2022 Catalunya Championship will also be held in Girona at the PGA Catalunya Golf and Wellness and help uphold a tradition that has seen Spain become a mainstay on the tour and a production line for some of the world’s best golfers.

But first up is the ISPS Handa Championship in Tarragona, where a whole host of stars will be chasing the $2 million purse and looking to be the first to get their name engraved on the inaugural trophy.

With no defending champion, it will be tough to select the favourites, but the likes of high-flying Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and Dane Thorbjorn Olesen will be leading a pack of homegrown talents in the shape of Dubai-based pair Adrian Otaegui and Adri Arnaus, Pablo Larrazabal — who already has a win on tour this season in South Africa — Jorge Campillo, Nacho Elvira and Alejandro Canizares.

Bernd Wiesberger

A host of champions on tour heading to Spain be familiar to Middle East golf fans. Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson, who claimed his maiden professional title at the recent Qatar Masters, will join Ras Al Khaimah’s two champions on the UAE Swing, Ryan Fox and Nicolai Hojgaard.

The Dane will liven up the party alongside twin brother Rasmus, and leading DP World Tour players also in the line-up include the likes of Alexander Bjork, Jamie Donaldson, Laurie Canter, James Morrison, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Jordan, Joost Luiten, Chris Paisley, Ross Fisher and Soren Kjeldsen.

Larrazabal, who won his sixth DP World Tour title at the MyGolfLife Open in March, will certainly be one to watch, while Ferguson will fancy his chances now he has a taste for victory after some near-misses.

The Infinitum Resort in Tarragona has been home to the final stage of DP World Tour Q School in recent years and that could help Canizares, who has a first and third over the Lakes Course in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

From the big guns, former Ryder Cup player and world No. 78 Wiesberger will be keen to get his season on track after no top-10 finishes from his five starts this season.

The Hojgaard twins can be unpredictable, but both have DP World Tour titles in the bag and will certainly produce fireworks. You can expect to see at least one of their names on the leaderboard at some point.

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The post DP World Tour heads back to where it all began in Spain for 50th Anniversary celebrations appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Former European Ryder Cupper Thorbjorn Olesen was found not guilty Wednesday on charges of sexual assault, assault and being drunk on an aircraft.

On Monday, a London court heard that Olesen exhibited uncouth behaviour on a flight from Nashville to London following the 2019 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. The Danish golfer was said to have pushed a British Airways worker, kissed another worker’s hand, touched a woman’s breast and cried before falling asleep, later waking up and urinating on another passenger’s seat. On Tuesday, Olesen, 31, apologised for his actions.

“I felt absolutely horrible and I was very sorry,” Olesen said. “I could not believe what they were saying what happened. I was just embarrassed and felt horrible.”

Olesen explained he drank two hops and two glasses of grape on a private jet beforehand and had a vodka and cranberry juice before boarding the London-bound flight. He also took two melatonin pills to combat jet lag, along with two Ambein pills. Olesen said he would “never” have taken the pills had he known they were prescription-only or that sleeping walking could be a side-effect. Olesen denied remembering the events on the plane.

On Wednesday, a jury—after less than an hour of deliberation—cleared him of all charges.

Olesen, a five-time winner on the European Tour and member of the 2018 European Ryder Cup team, was originally suspended by the European Tour but given temporary reinstatement in July 2020 because of the delay in the hearing of his court case due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He made 17 starts on the Old World Circuit this season but struggled, his poor performance Olesen attributed this week to the incident and its fallout.

The post Thorbjorn Olesen cleared of assault charges appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Former European Ryder Cupper Thorbjorn Olesen has apologised to fans regarding his 2019 charge of sexual assault.

Olsen, 30, is facing charges of sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and assault by beating following a 2019 incident. Competing for the first time in 11 months at the Danish PGA Championship, Olesen spoke to reporters following the tournament.

“I am incredibly sad about what has happened and would like to apologise to all the Danes who have supported me for so many years,” Olesen said. “I basically haven’t played golf in a year. I played for a week in November in Spain, and then I’ve been playing for the last couple of weeks—that’s it. “Since I started playing, I’ve never had anything like that where I haven’t played in such a long time. It’s hard.”

According to the Independent and the Sun, Olesen—a five-time European Tour winner—was arrested for allegedly molesting a woman who was asleep on a flight from Memphis to London following the 2019 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Olesen then argued with other passengers on the flight, according to published reports, causing fellow European Tour pro Ian Poulter, who was also on the plane, to intervene.

But when Poulter fell asleep, Olesen’s inappropriate behaviour allegedly continued, according to reports, which included yelling at crew members and urinating in an aisle. Police were waiting for Olesen upon the plane’s arrival at Heathrow Airport.

Olesen has been suspended from the European Tour since the incident. Though he did not speak on his upcoming trial, he hopes to return to the Old World circuit soon.

“I can only say that the trial is set for December 2021, and I can’t say that much anymore. I hope, of course, that I will be able to come out and play again,” Olesen said.

UPDATE: The European Tour lifted Olesen’s suspension on Thursday, allowing him to return to competition while he contests his case.

“This will be reviewed following the conclusion of the legal process, but as this is an on-going legal matter the European Tour will be making no further comment at this time,” the tour said in a statement.

The post European Ryder Cupper apologises to fans for assault charge  appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Thorbjorn Olesen plead not guilty to sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft, and common assault on Wednesday at Uxbridge Magistrates Court outside London, according to Sky Sports.

According to the Independent and the Sun, Olesen—a five-time European Tour winner and member of the 2018 Ryder Cup team—was arrested for allegedly molested a woman who was asleep on a flight from Memphis to London following the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Olesen, 29, then argued with other passengers on the flight, according to published reports, causing fellow European Tour pro Ian Poulter, who was also on the plane, to intervene.

But when Poulter fell asleep, Olesen’s inappropriate behaviour allegedly continued, according to reports, which included yelling at crew members and urinating in an aisle. Police were waiting for Olesen upon the plane’s arrival at Heathrow Airport.

According to Sky Sports, Olesen’s case will be heard by a jury beginning on Sept. 18, a day before the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, begins.

In a statement on Aug. 6, the European Tour announced that Olesen will not be allowed to play until the outcome of his trial.

“As it remains a pending case, we currently have no further comments,” the tour said.

The post Report: Ryder Cupper Thorbjorn Olesen pleads not guilty to sexual assault appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
A 29-year-old man was arrested on Monday for sexually assaulting a sleeping woman and urinating in the aisle of a plane while drunk. Multiple reports out of London have identified the man as European Ryder Cupper Thorbjorn Olesen.

Both The Independent and The Sun say Olesen, 29, was on a British Airways flight from Memphis to London, having just competed in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind. Both news outlets reported that the five-time European Tour winner allegedly molested the woman while she was asleep in first class, then became involved in an argument with other passengers on the flight, causing fellow European tour pro Ian Poulter, who was also on the flight, to intervene.

Olesen has not yet commented on the accusations, and emails to his agent, Rory Flanagan, at Hambric Sports, were not returned.

The Sun reported that it spoke to Poulter’s agent, Paul Dunkley, who said the Englishman went to sleep after attempting to play peacemaker with Olesen and the passengers he had become verbally abusive towards. While Poulter was sleeping, the Dane continued to be a disruption on the flight.

“He [Olesen] started abusing some of the passengers and crew and then made a pass at one of the female passengers before taking a leak in the aisle,” an eyewitness told The Sun, which first reported the incident.

“It was shocking behaviour. You would expect it may be on a budget airline but not in the first-class cabin on BA.”

The papers say Olesen was also verbally abusive toward the cabin crew as they attempted to diffuse the situation. Reports said that police were waiting for Olesen at the flight’s arrival gate, where they eventually arrested him and took him in for questioning. They later confirmed that he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, being drunk on board an aircraft and failing to comply with the orders of cabin crew. After being taken into custody, he was released under investigation.

A British Airways spokesman said: “Our customers and crews deserve to enjoy their flights, and not to suffer any form of abuse. This sort of behaviour will not be tolerated, and the appropriate action will always be taken.​​“

Asked to respond to the reports on Olesen, the European Tour told Golf Digest: “This is an active police matter and therefore we have no comment.”

This post will be updated.

The post Reports: Thorbjorn Olesen arrested for sexually assaulting sleeping woman, urinating in aisle during flight appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.