Weekend Wrap-up - Olesen back with a bang at St Andrews

WHAT a difference four days can make. Last year, Oliver Wilson came from nowhere to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Not so long ago, the same thing happened to David Howell.

And Thorbjorn Olesen is the latest to leave St Andrews with his life changed. He started the week in 124th place in the Race to Dubai and with his world ranking heading in the wrong direction. He ends it with a cheque for more than 700,000 euros in his back pocket, in 25th place in the Race to Dubai, in the top 75 in the world rankings and finds himself top of the European Ryder Cup points table.

Not a bad few days work then for the incredibly talented Dane. Olesen has struggled all year, but there had been signs recently that he was about to turn things around, and he certainly did so over four days at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews. This tournament has been cursed with some awful weather over the years, but was played out in glorious sunshine and unseasonably high temperatures this time.

The swing that tamed the Old Course. @ThorbjornOlesen pic.twitter.com/eDOoRmB9Kz

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 4, 2015

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Olesen’s win was the concentration he showed, especially during a final round that took the best part of six hours to complete. This is, of course, a pro-am, and the amateurs who survived through to the final round were all in with a chance of claiming the amateur prize. So we had the bizarre sight of groups of four, with three professional and one celebrity amateur. It seemed to take an eternity to play each hole, with groups backing up all over the Old Course.

But through it all, Olesen was calmness personified as he won his third European Tour title. He was second at this event in 2012 but went one better this time, posting a one under par 71 over the Old Course to finish the week on 18 under par, two shots clear of the American duo of Brooks Koepka and Chris Stroud.

Englishman Chris Wood closed with a bogey-free 65 to finish a shot further back alongside Benjamin Hebert, Bernd Wiesberger, Joakim Lagergren and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Olesen began his final round with a three-shot lead. He birdied the first but surrendered his lead with a double-bogey at the second and a bogey at the third. It looked like he was about to crumble. Instead, he stormed back with birdies at the fourth and fifth. His first par of the day came at the sixth hole, the first of nine in a row. It was enough to keep him one in front. And when he holed a 50-foot birdie putt at the 15th to extend his lead to two, he only had to keep his head over the finishing stretch to win.

He parred the notorious 17th, the Road Hole, which meant he was able to enjoy his walk down the 18th. “It feels great,” he said. “It has been a very tough year and standing here with this trophy is just unbelievable. I got too aggressive on the second hole and was punished, so I just tried to keep myself together and stayed very patient. Winning after the year I have had makes this more personal and very emotional. I just kept believing.”

Italy’s Matteo Delpodio was the EMC Challenge Open at Rome’s Olgiata Golf Club. He led from start to finish, sealing his maiden Challenge Topur triumph with a level par round of 71 to secure a three-shot victory.

The 30-year-old was cheered on by a large group of friends and family. He had to return to the course to complete his third round in an event dogged by bad weather over the first three days.

“It is an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “I have been waiting so long for this moment, and to achieve it in my homeland is a dream come true. It has been the toughest day on a golf course I have ever had, but now it is the greatest ever.

Gary Boyd, of England, was second on his 29th birthday after finishing with four straight birdies for a 68. He was two ahead of Frenchmen Edourd Dubois and Thomas Linard, and Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden.

England’s Simon Brown  won the French Riviera Masters at Terre Blanche in the south of France despite a bold charge by compatriot Barry Lane.  The event was reduced to 54 holes because of torrential rain, but the sun shone on the final day and Brown took advantage with a 68 for a 10-under-par winning total.

Lane had set the clubhouse target with a magnificent round of 64, which included four birdies and an eagle on the back nine.

But Brown birdied two holes on the front nine and two more on the way home to win by two shots from Lane and Paraguay’s Angel Franco. “It’s my third win since 2013 and I am delighted,” he said. “I really like the course, I can see the shots from the tee and the fairways and the greens are always in great condition, so I am already looking forward to coming back and defending my title next year.”