Thorbjørn Olesen


Jacob Thorbjørn Olesen is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, where he has won five times including the 2016 Turkish Airlines Open and the 2018 Italian Open. He has also won two important pairs events, representing Denmark, the 2016 World Cup of Golf with Søren Kjeldsen and the 2017 GolfSixes with Lucas Bjerregaard.

Professional career

Olesen turned professional in 2008. He finished in fourth place on the third tier Nordic League rankings in 2009, having won three tournaments, to graduate to Europe's second tier Challenge Tour for 2010. During his début season he claimed his first Challenge Tour title at The Princess, held in Sweden at the beginning of July. He finished third in the 2010 Challenge Tour ranking, earning him full exemption for the 2011 European Tour.
In December 2010, Olesen tied for second place at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, the first tournament of the 2011 European Tour season. This was equaled in June 2011, when Olesen tied for second at the BMW Italian Open in Turin, mostly due to a 10-under-par round of 62 on the final day, but still coming up short by one stroke of Englishman Robert Rock. The following month Olesen finished in a tie for second again at the Alstom Open de France when he bogeyed the last hole to finish one stroke behind Thomas Levet. With this finish, Olesen qualified for The 2011 Open Championship, his first major.
Olesen won the 2012 Sicilian Open. This victory placed him in the top-100 of the Official World Golf Ranking. After the final event of the 2012 season, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai where he finished T21, Olesen moved into the world top-50 for the first time as No. 50 and played the Masters for the first time in 2013.
In the 2013 Masters Tournament, after an opening round of 78, Olesen shot rounds of 70, 68, and 68 to finish at four-under-par 284, good enough for a sixth place tie. His final three rounds of 206 combined were ten-under-par, the best in the tournament. He earned enough money to be eligible for Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour, which he accepted. This allowed him unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the 2013 season.
In 2015, Olesen won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.
In 2016, Olesen won the Turkish Airlines Open in Turkey. This was part of the Race to Dubai Final Series.
In 2018, Olesen won the Italian Open for his fifth European Tour victory.
In September 2018, Olesen qualified for the 2018 Ryder Cup European team. Europe regained the Ryder Cup, winning by 17½ points to 10½. Olesen went 1–1 including defeating Jordan Spieth in singles.

Personal life

On 29 July 2019, Olesen was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a British Airways flight. He was also accused of urinating in a first-class aisle. On 6 August 2019, he was formally charged with sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and common assault. He was suspended by the European Tour pending resolution of the criminal charges. The suspension is initially valid until the end of the legal proceedings. In July 2020, the European Tour lifted the suspension because his court date, original scheduled for 11 May 2020, was postponed until December 2021.

Professional wins (12)

European Tour wins (5)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
11 Apr 2012Sicilian Open−15 1 stroke Chris Wood
226 Oct 2014ISPS Handa Perth International1−17 3 strokes Victor Dubuisson
34 Oct 2015Alfred Dunhill Links Championship−18 2 strokes Brooks Koepka, Chris Stroud
46 Nov 2016Turkish Airlines Open−20 3 strokes David Horsey, Li Haotong
53 Jun 2018Italian Open−22 1 stroke Francesco Molinari

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12015AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open George CoetzeeLost to birdie on second extra hole

Challenge Tour wins (1)

Challenge Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12010Mugello Tuscany Open Floris de VriesLost to birdie on second extra hole

Nordic Golf League wins (4)

Other wins (2)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place

Summary

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.
Tournament20122013201420152016201720182019
ChampionshipT53T63T45
Match PlayR32R64T38T40
InvitationalT48T10T3T27
ChampionsT11T6T19T31T7

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Professional