Olesen Eyes Home Glory at Danish Golf Championship
Thorbjørn Olesen is hoping to emulate fellow Dane Rasmus Højgaard's success as he makes his return to the DP World Tour at this week's Danish Golf Championship. The event marks his first regular appearance since his dominant victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.
Olesen's performance in the UAE was nothing short of spectacular. He set new season records for lowest score and largest winning margin, finishing a remarkable six shots clear at 27 under par. Since then, he has maintained an impressive run of form, avoiding a missed cut in three Majors and two Rolex Series events in 2024.
However, the tenth edition of the Danish Golf Championship presents a unique challenge. The new venue, Lübker Golf Resort, is expected to draw large and enthusiastic crowds, creating a different atmosphere to his previous success.
Last year, Højgaard became the first Dane to win the tournament, and Olesen is drawing inspiration from that achievement rather than feeling added pressure. "Since this tournament came on, it's always been a great week for us, especially for us Danes coming back home to play," he said. "I think also for all the other players it's been a great tournament, there's always been lots of people and the set up has always been really, really good."
He added: "It's always been, since it came on, a dream to win here. Rasmus last year was incredible and a great finish to see him doing it and I think we really needed it. We'd been close but no Dane had won it before Rasmus so it was great to see him win it last year."
Olesen recently returned from his second Olympic appearance, where he finished in a tie for 14th at Le Golf National. As a veteran of the 2018 Ryder Cup win, he has now competed in two major sporting events at the Parisian course and believes his Olympic experience, alongside this week's tournament, will help set him up for a strong end to the season.
"I played in 16 in Brazil but this one was just incredible, the atmosphere that was there on the golf course reminded me of the Ryder Cup - it was so good," he commented. "Obviously you want to try to win a medal and we came up short of that but it was a fantastic week and it showed golf in a different perspective and I think that's really good for the sport, overall it was an incredible week."
He continued: "I've been over there (PGA TOUR) most of this year but I'm happy to come back here to the DP World Tour, I love playing here and I'm going to be playing here the rest of this year and hopefully try and get that card back, that would be great. I've missed it a little bit for sure and I'm excited to play all these events in Europe with so many great weeks coming up."
With a strong performance in Denmark, Olesen will be aiming to build momentum towards a successful finish to the season, both on the DP World Tour and potentially on the international stage.
