Thorbjørn Olesen

Danish professional golfer

Thorbjørn Olesen

Personal information
Full name| Jacob Thorbjørn Olesen
Nickname| Thunder Bear[1]
Born|  (1989-12-21) 21 December 1989 (age 35)
Hareskovby, Furesø Municipality, Denmark
Height| 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight| 154 lb (70 kg; 11.0 st)
Sporting nationality|  Denmark
Residence| Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Career
Turned professional| 2008
Current tour(s)| PGA Tour
European Tour
Former tour(s)| Challenge Tour
Nordic Golf League
Professional wins| 15
Highest ranking| 33 (28 April 2013)[2]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour| 8
PGA Tour of Australasia| 1
Challenge Tour| 1
Other| 6
Best results in major championships

Masters Tournament| T6: 2013
PGA Championship| T27: 2012
U.S. Open| CUT: 2013, 2018, 2019, 2022
The Open Championship| T9: 2012

Jacob Thorbjørn Olesen (born 21 December 1989) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, where he has won eight 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

[edit]

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.[3] He finished third in the 2010 Challenge Tour ranking, earning him full exemption (category 10b) 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.[4] 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.[5] This victory placed him in the top-100 of the Official World Golf Ranking.[6] 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[7] 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.[8]

In 2015, Olesen won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.[9]

In 2016, Olesen won the Turkish Airlines Open in Turkey. This was part of the Race to Dubai Final Series.[9]

Olesen at the 2017 European Open.

In 2018, Olesen won the Italian Open for his fifth European Tour victory.[9]

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 (5 and 4).[10]

After four years without winning, Olesen won the Betfred British Masters in May 2022. He finished eagle-birdie on the final two holes to claim a one shot victory over Sebastian Söderberg.[11]

In February 2023, Olesen won the Thailand Classic for his seventh European Tour victory. He shot a final-round 66 to win by four shots ahead of Yannik Paul.[12] In May 2024, Olesen would set the course record at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club with a final round 61 (−10) in the Myrtle Beach Classic.[13]

## Personal life

[edit]

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.[14] On 6 August 2019, he was formally charged with sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and common assault.[15] He was suspended by the European Tour pending resolution of the criminal charges.[16] The suspension was initially valid until the end of the legal proceedings.[17] In July 2020, the European Tour lifted the suspension because his court date, original scheduled for 11 May 2020, was postponed until December 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] On 8 December 2021, Olesen was cleared of all charges by a court in London.[19]

Olesen supports both F.C. Copenhagen and Manchester United.[20]

## Professional wins (15)

[edit]

### European Tour wins (8)

[edit]

Legend

Race to Dubai finals series (1)
Rolex Series (1)
Other European Tour (6)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of
victory | Runner(s)-up

|
|
|
|
|

1  | 1 Apr 2012 | Sicilian Open | −15 (68-69-67-69=273)  | 1 stroke  |  Chris Wood
2  | 26 Oct 2014 | ISPS Handa Perth International1 | −17 (64-69-67-71=271)  | 3 strokes  |  Victor Dubuisson
3  | 4 Oct 2015 | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | −18 (68-66-65-71=270)  | 2 strokes  |  Brooks Koepka,  Chris Stroud
4  | 6 Nov 2016 | Turkish Airlines Open | −20 (65-62-68-69=264)  | 3 strokes  |  David Horsey,  Li Haotong
5  | 3 Jun 2018 | Italian Open | −22 (65-68-65-64=262)  | 1 stroke  |  Francesco Molinari
6  | 8 May 2022 | Betfred British Masters | −10 (66-70-69-73=278)  | 1 stroke  |  Sebastian Söderberg
7  | 19 Feb 2023 | Thailand Classic | −24 (67-67-64-66=264)  | 4 strokes  |  Yannik Paul
8  | 28 Jan 2024 | Ras Al Khaimah Championship | −27 (69-62-63-67=261)  | 6 strokes  |  Rasmus Højgaard

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result

|
|
|
|

1  | 2015 | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open |  George Coetzee | Lost to birdie on second extra hole

### Challenge Tour wins (1)

[edit]

No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of
victory | Runners-up

|
|
|
|
|

1  | 4 Jul 2010 | The Princess | −14 (69-66-65-70=270)  | 2 strokes  |  Peter Gustafsson,  Bernd Wiesberger

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result

|
|
|
|

1  | 2010 | Mugello Tuscany Open |  Floris de Vries | Lost to birdie on second extra hole

### Nordic Golf League wins (4)

[edit]

No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of
victory | Runner(s)-up

|
|
|
|
|

1  | 22 Oct 2008 | ECCO Tour Qualification  | −10 (67-67=134)  | 2 strokes  |  Petter Bocian
2  | 22 Jan 2009 | Oliva Nova Open1 | −1 (74-73-68=215)  | 1 stroke  |  Sean Elliott,  Kristian Nielsen
3  | 29 Jan 2009  | Open de Quara1 | −3 (70-70-73=213)  | Playoff  |  Peter James
4  | 15 Aug 2009  | JELD-WEN Masters  | −9 (71-65-71=207)  | 3 strokes  |  Kristian Nielsen

1Co-sanctioned by the Hi5 Pro Tour

### Other wins (2)

[edit]

No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of
victory | Runners-up

|
|
|
|
|

1  | 27 Nov 2016  | ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf
(with  Søren Kjeldsen)  | −20 (72-60-70-66=268)  | 4 strokes  |  China − Li Haotong and Wu Ashun,
France − Victor Dubuisson and Romain Langasque,
United States − Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker
2  | 7 May 2017  | GolfSixes
(with  Lucas Bjerregaard)  | 3–1  |  Australia − Sam Brazel and Scott Hend

## Results in major championships

[edit]

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament  | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament |  |  | T6  | T44  |  |  |  |
U.S. Open |  |  | CUT  |  |  |  |  | CUT
The Open Championship | CUT  | T9  | CUT  | T64  |  | CUT  | T62  | T12
PGA Championship |  | T27  | T40  | T30  |  | CUT  | T44  | T56
Tournament  | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024

|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament | T21  |  |  |  |  | T58
PGA Championship | T64  |  |  |  | CUT  | T53
U.S. Open | CUT  |  |  | CUT  |  |
The Open Championship | T57  | NT  |  |  | CUT  | T43

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place
NT = no tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic

### Summary

[edit]

Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6
Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 27 | 17

* Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (twice)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

## Results in The Players Championship

[edit]

Tournament  | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

The Players Championship | CUT  |  |  |  |  |  | T41

Did not play

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

## Results in World Golf Championships

[edit]

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Championship |  | T53  |  |  |  | T63  |  | T45
Match Play |  | R32  | R64  |  | T38  |  |  | T40
Invitational |  | T48  |  |  |  | T10  | T3  | T27
Champions | T11  |  | T6  | T19  |  | T31  | T7  |

Top 10

Did not play

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

## Team appearances

[edit]

Amateur

* European Boys' Team Championship (representing Denmark): 2006[21]

Professional

* World Cup (representing Denmark): 2011, 2013, 2016 (winners), 2018
* Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2013 (winners)
* Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2013 (winners)
* EurAsia Cup (representing Europe): 2014
* Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2018 (winners)
* Team Cup (representing Continental Europe): 2025[22][23]

## See also

[edit]

* 2010 Challenge Tour graduates
* 2023 Race to Dubai dual card winners
* 2024 Race to Dubai dual card winners
* List of golfers with most European Tour wins

## References

[edit]

1. ^ McClelland, Nicholas Hegel (4 December 2017). "Thunder Bear's Big Break?". Men's Journal. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
2. ^ "Week 17 2013 Ending 28 Apr 2013" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
3. ^ "Olesen wins by two in Sweden". The News & Observer. The Sports Network. 4 July 2010.
4. ^ "Olesen shoots final day 62 but misses out by one". Sky Sports. 12 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
5. ^ "Thorbjorn Olesen wins Sicilian Open". ESPN. Associated Press. 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
6. ^ "Official World Golf Ranking – Week 13, 2012" (PDF). 1 April 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
7. ^ "Official World Golf Ranking – Week 47, 2012" (PDF). 25 November 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
8. ^ "Olesen now temporary member". PGA Tour. 19 April 2013. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
9. ^ a b c "Thorbjorn Olesen". OWGR. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
10. ^ Malyon, Ed (30 September 2018). "Amid champagne and chaos Europe drink in their golden moment". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
11. ^ Casey, Phil (8 May 2022). "Thorbjorn Olesen savours 'special' British Masters win after 'some tough years'". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
12. ^ "DP World Tour: Thorbjorn Olesen wins seventh title as he cruises to four-shot victory at Thailand Classic". Sky Sports. 19 February 2023. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
13. ^ King, Chris (12 May 2024). "Breaking News: Dunes Club Course Record Falls Sunday Morning". Myrtle Beach Golf Trips. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
14. ^ "Report: Thorbjorn Olesen is accused of sexually assaulting sleeping woman, urinating in aisle of plane". Golfweek. 1 August 2019. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
15. ^ "Ryder Cup winner Olesen charged with sexual assault on flight". Reuters. 6 August 2019. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
16. ^ "European Tour suspends Olesen following arrest". ESPN. Associated Press. 6 August 2019. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
17. ^ "Nach Zwischenfall im Flugzeug: Olesen kommt vor Gericht". Golf Magazin (in German). 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
18. ^ Romine, Brentley (2 July 2020). "European Tour lifts suspension for Thorbjorn Olesen". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
19. ^ "Thorbjorn Olesen: Ryder Cup-winning golfer cleared of sex assault on flight". BBC Sport. 8 December 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
20. ^ "Thorbjørn Olesen - Sky Sports Golf". Golf Channel.
21. ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
22. ^ "Julien Guerrier replaces Nicolai Hojgaard in the Team Cup". Ten Golf. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
23. ^ "Great Britain & Ireland win Team Cup 17-8". European Tour. 12 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Thorbjørn Olesen at the European Tour official site
* Thorbjørn Olesen at the PGA Tour official site
* Thorbjørn Olesen at the Golfdata official site (in Swedish)
* Thorbjørn Olesen at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

* v
* t
* e

European Ryder Cup team – 2018

* Paul Casey
* Tommy Fleetwood
* Sergio García
* Tyrrell Hatton
* Rory McIlroy
* Francesco Molinari
* Alex Norén
* Thorbjørn Olesen
* Ian Poulter
* Jon Rahm
* Justin Rose
* Henrik Stenson

* Thomas Bjørn (non-playing captain)

Won: 17½ - 10½
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