Olesen looks to emulate Bjorn at Qatar Masters

Thorbjorn Olesen will be looking to go one better than his runner-up finish in last year’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters when he competes in the tournament’s landmark 20th edition from January 26-29.
Olesen, 27, is in fine form, having lifted two trophies in November. The Dane won the Turkish Airlines Open for his fourth European Tour title in five years and three weeks later teamed up with Soren Kjeldsen in Australia to secure Denmark’s first-ever win at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf in Melbourne.
Olesen, who finished a career-high 12th on the 2016 Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, is now sizing up his seventh successive appearance in Doha as he again bids to become only the second Dane to lift the Mother of Pearl Trophy and follow the 2011 victory by Thomas Bjorn, the European Captain for The 2018 Ryder Cup.
“I feel like I’m getting closer and closer to winning the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters so it would be nice to go one step further and win this time,” said Olesen, who shared second with Rafa Cabrera Bello in last year’s tournament, having tied for third with the Spaniard in 2014.
“I’ve had two really good results in Qatar in the last three years and it would be nice to secure a victory.”
Olesen – who turned pro when he was 18 – has long shown star pedigree and has had two top ten finishes in Major Championships, tying for ninth at The Open Championship in 2012 and sixth at the following year’s Masters Tournament.
As well as his runner-up finish in Qatar last January, Olesen also tied for second at the BMW International Open in Germany in June so was delighted to finish the season on a high in Turkey and Australia.
“It was a good time for me at the end of the year with the victory in Turkey and winning the World Cup with Soren,” said Olesen, who was playing in his third World Cup but first with Kjeldsen.
“I really hope I can now build on that finish and start 2017 strongly. Qatar has become a fixture on my schedule and I play well there, so I’m really looking forward to the event.”
Qatar Golf Association president Hassan al-Naimi said, “Denmark were deserving champions of the World Cup of Golf and it’s great for our fans that Thorbjorn Olesen will compete at Doha Golf Club again. We all look forward to this great young player challenging for the title again after coming close in recent years.”