Emotional Olesen back to his best
TEARFUL Thorbjorn Olesen rescued his season and moved into pole position in the Ryder Cup points race yesterday when he landed the biggest win of his career. The 25-year-old Dane held his nerve to be crowned Alfred Dunhill Links champion at St Andrews, despite almost missing two fairways with his final tee shot. His heart must have skipped several beats when his ball flew left and landed just yards from the semi-rough down the adjacent first hole. He explained: ‘I was trying to chip a drive, which was probably not the best idea, but luckily there is a lot of room, so I got away with it.’ It was not the only moment of drama after the pressure got to Olesen when he followed a birdie at the first with a double bogey and then another dropped shot. Back-to-back birdies steadied the ship and, despite being caught by Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Frenchman Benjamin Hebert at one stage, Olesen was never passed. ‘I got too aggressive on the second hole and was punished for it,’ he said after posting a closing 71 for an 18-under-par aggregate of 270. ‘But I kept myself together and stayed patient. ‘I know I am capable of winning any week if I play my best. ‘I always kept believing because I knew I was good enough. ‘But there was a lot of pressure and my card was in my mind more and more, knowing I had to do something good. ‘Now it feels great to have got that over and done with. Standing with this trophy here at St Andrews of all places is an unbelievable feeling.’ The last time Olesen competed in a strokeplay event in Scotland, he missed the cut after leading on day one. That was three months ago in the Scottish Open at Gullane, when he followed an opening 63 with an ugly 77. But he erased the memory of his dramatic collapse with his two-shot victory over joint runnersup Brooks Koepka and Chris Stroud, of America. After being sidelined for three months at the start of the year following surgery on his left wrist, Olesen missed 10 cuts from 14 starts and nose dived to 124th in the Race to Dubai. He also had to cope with a groin problem and feared losing his card. But he has put his troubles firmly behind him. It was almost too much for him and he confessed: ‘This is maybe the most emotional I have ever been, certainly walking up the 18th after what has been a very tough year.’ Edinburgh’s David Drysdale made a remarkable comeback from injury to finish top Scot in equal ninth place after tearing his right calf muscle when the face of a bunker gave way under him during last month’s Italian Open. Drysdale, 40, also secured his card after climbing 25 places in the Race to Dubai to 96th after a closing 68.