Thorbjorn Olesen has given himself a fantastic opportunity to secure his first PGA Tour victory, with the Dane leading the 3M Open at the halfway stage at TPC Twin Cities.
A great performance for Thorbjorn Olesen this week could be huge for the 35-year-old. He went into the week in 129th place in the FedEx Cup standings. A victory would give him an amazing chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
And Olesen only needs to look at someone like Chris Gotterup to see how quickly a player’s stock can rise – particularly with the Ryder Cup around the corner.
As things stand, it is hard to see Olesen managing to catch Luke Donald‘s eye after a mixed year. However, the playoffs could throw up a number of surprises.
And should Olesen get the chance at Bethpage, he will hope that he can play a much more prominent role than he did on his Ryder Cup debut back in 2018.
Why Rory McIlroy apologised to Thorbjørn Olesen during the 2018 Ryder Cup
Olesen qualified automatically for Thomas Bjorn’s team at Le Golf National. And he was handed what appeared to be a dream opportunity, with Bjorn putting him alongside Rory McIlroy in the second match of the first session. Their opponents would be Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.
Unfortunately for the Europeans, they were beaten 4&2 as USA made a flying start. And it was Olesen who paid the price, as Bjorn left his countryman out of the next three sessions.
Europe went on to win 17.5-10.5. Olesen actually beat Jordan Spieth in the Sunday singles to send a bit of a message.
And speaking – in comments reported by the Daily Mirror in 2018 – McIlroy admitted that he felt terrible about Olesen sitting out three sessions due to his display.
“I haven’t had my best stuff for a while. I’m struggling with my swing a bit and fighting it. I wanted to come here and contribute and help the rookies and I felt horrendous for Thorbjorn — the reason he didn’t play Friday afternoon or Saturday was because of me,” he said.
“I had a chat with him on Friday after the fourballs and said ‘Sorry, you’ll have your chance but let this be motivation for you.’ He then went out and beat one of the best players in the world.
“I was so happy for Jon Rahm and Thorbjorn to win points and have everyone contribute to what was an unbelievable side.”
Victory at the 3M Open could be a game-changer for Thorbjorn Olesen
If the leaderboard at the 3M Open remains as it is, Olesen will climb 73 places in the FedEx Cup. It is the kind of performance which could completely turn his year around.
His most recent top 10 Stateside came at the Myrtle Beach Classic in May. Shortly afterwards, Olesen was only behind Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler for scoring average on the PGA Tour.
The talent has always been there. He has won eight times on the DP World Tour. He also marked his Masters debut by finishing tied for sixth in 2013.
It should therefore not come as a huge surprise if he manages to win at TPC Twin Cities. And if he does and earns his ticket into the playoffs, then it would be foolish to write off his chances of putting together the kind of run which gives Donald something to think about.
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