Thorbjorn Olesen on Sunday overcame a shaky start to protect his overnight lead and win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by two shots.
Olesen had a double-bogey on the second hole and a bogey on the third, but recovered for a one-under 71 at St Andrews to hold off a late charge by Brooks Koepka of the US.
Koepka shot a 67 to finish tied for second with fellow US golfer Chris Stroud (68).
Photo: AP
Olesen, who entered the final round with a three-shot lead, finished with an 18-under total of 270.
The Dane earned his third European Tour title after showing his mastery of links courses, having finished runner-up in 2012.
The tournament is spread over St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie over the first three rounds.
“It’s been a very tough year, and standing here with this trophy is unbelievable,” said Olesen, who missed three months of the season after hand surgery. “It was nice this week just to play three great rounds of golf — the first three — and keep it together in this last round.”
Koepka looked set to challenge Olesen when he picked up three straight birdies from the ninth, but lost his momentum with a bogey on the 13th. After another birdie on 14, he finished with four straight pars.
“I am pretty pleased,” Koepka said. “Overall, I played pretty well, but just came up a little bit short.”
Stroud needed a birdie on the 18th to tie for second.
“I can’t imagine anything better than this,” Stroud said. “I would take that score on any tournament, so at the original place of golf, right here in the home of golf, this is pretty special.”
Chris Wood of England was among five players tied for fourth, another shot back, after a 65.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS