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Thorbjørn Olesen
Personal information
Full name	Jacob Thorbjørn Olesen
Nickname	Thunder Bear
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)
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

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 (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. 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 (5 and 4).

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.

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. 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.

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 was 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 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 8 December 2021, Olesen was cleared of all charges by a court in London.

Olesen supports both F.C. Copenhagen and Manchester United.

Professional wins (15)

European Tour wins (8)

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 International	−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

Co-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)

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)

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 Open	−1 (74-73-68=215)	1 stroke	Sean Elliott, Kristian Nielsen
3	29 Jan 2009	Open de Quara	−3 (70-70-73=213)	Playoff	Peter James
4	15 Aug 2009	JELD-WEN Masters	−9 (71-65-71=207)	3 strokes	Kristian Nielsen

Co-sanctioned by the Hi5 Pro Tour

Other wins (2)

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

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

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

Summary

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

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

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

Team appearances

Amateur

• European Boys' Team Championship (representing Denmark): 2006

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)

See also

• 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

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. ^ "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.

External links

• 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

• Danish male golfers
• European Tour golfers
• PGA Tour golfers
• Ryder Cup competitors for Europe
• Olympic golfers for Denmark
• Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
• Golfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics
• People from Furesø Municipality
• Sportspeople from Copenhagen
• 1989 births
• Living people
• 21st-century Danish sportsmen