STILL VIN WITH A SHOUT
Dane Olesen returns for Hero Open as Covid delays trial for BA allegation NOT FAB FOR MAVERICK BUT... SNOOKER FORMER CHAMP CRASHES OUT
RYDER CUP star Thorbjorn Olesen will make his European Tour comeback at the Hero Open after his suspension over a pending sexual assault case was lifted.
The Dane, who played in Paris for Thomas Bjorn’s victorious team, has confirmed his place at the Forest of Arden this week.
Tour officials opted to end his ban because of the delay in UK court proceedings caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Olesen is due to face trial in December, after an incident on a British Airways flight from Nashville to London 12 months ago.
“While my team and I initially agreed that I would not
MAVERICK VINALES is confident there is time to turn his season around after rival Fabio Quartararo made it two wins in a row at Jerez yesterday.
Quartararo took an easy lightsto-flag victory on his Petronas Yamaha in Spain, with Vinales second and Valentino Rossi third.
But Vinales (above) is convinced Quartararo’s 10-point lead can be participate in Tour events while the legal proceedings were outstanding, I am naturally grateful to the European Tour for allowing me to continue my career following the lengthy adjournment of my trial,” said 30-year-old Olesen.
“Obviously, the case itself is still ongoing, so I will continue to make no comment about it.”
Olesen and the rest of the field will face the same stringent coronavirus restrictions as the British Masters, won by Italy’s Renato Paratore on Saturday, which means no Andrew ‘Beef ’ Johnston.
He withdrew after nine holes pulled back. “It was tough, I was stuck behind Vale and couldn’t pass,” he said. “And when I tried I ran off track and lost many, many seconds.
“But we’ve taken 40 points from these races in Jerez and we go home feeling good, which is important because the championship is still very long and we have many tracks where we’re quite good coming up now.” at Close House and is unlikely to return during the six-event UK swing unless the Tour’s lockdown policy eases. “This bubble really doesn’t work for me and I’ve learnt to listen to myself. I can’t wait until things are back to normal,” he tweeted at the weekend.
The only place players were allowed to go at Close House, apart from the golf course, was the tournament hotel.
And there was also a ban on socialising with anyone, bar their own caddie, which represented a sea change in the Tour’s culture. But the key point was there were no positive tests. “There has
KEN’S WORLD IN RUINS
KEN DOHERTY is hoping for a tour wildcard after seeing his Crucible dream dashed and losing his pro status.
The 50-year-old 1997 world champion lost 6-3 to world No.46 Mark King in qualifying, dropping him out of the top 64.
Irishman Doherty (above), who is now relying on a second tour been a tremendous amount of work over the last four months to establish all the new protocols and procedures which have been implemented,” said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley (left).
“To see them in operation at Close House has been impressive. The health and safety of all our players, caddies, staff, broadcasters and onsite media is our absolute priority, so we want our protocols to be as comprehensive and robust as possible to ensure that.
“But we’re also operating under the guidelines of the UK Government and Public Health England, so the protocols we have in place are based on their requirements.” wildcard for services to the sport, said: “It’s a hard one to take. You always want to play at the Crucible and I am very disappointed that I won’t be there.
“But I haven’t given up hope and may get back. “If I was offered an invitational card and there was one available then I would definitely take it.”