World Cup of Golf: Denmark secure first victory thanks to Kjeldsen and Olesen
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Denmark won the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf for the first time as Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen claimed a thrilling four-shot victory.
The Danes had been a dominant force all week, at Kingston Heath Golf Club, with a stunning round of 60 in the fourballs on Friday helping them carry a four-shot lead into a final day where they played the same format.
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They did not have it all their own way, however, and the lead was cut to one shot on the back nine as the United States and China both kept applying pressure, whilst France and Sweden made late surges.
But a run of five birdies in six holes from the tenth reasserted the Danes’ dominance, and Kjeldsen and Olesen ultimately ran out comfortable victors after finishing on 20 under par courtesy of a closing round of 66.
“To win this beautiful trophy is amazing,” said Soren Kjeldsen.
“I think what’s so special about it is that we don’t get to lift a trophy with another player very often. So to experience that team feeling makes it even more special than an individual event. We have both had good years and we sort finish them off like this, so obviously that builds the confidence hugely and is an incredible end to the season.”
The French pair of Victor Dubuisson and Romian Langasque shared second place alongside China – represented by Wu Ashun and Li Haotong – and the United States duo of Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.
Alex Noren and David Lingmerth combined for a brilliant closing 62 to finish shots five back for Sweden.
Dubuisson reflected on a what might have been for the French duo.
“I think we couldn’t really do any better. To shoot nine under was a great score, because the pin positions were very difficult,” he said.
“Romain started the round really well, he made some very important putts on the first seven holes, which are very difficult. Then I made a good birdie on eight and we were four under. So I thought we had a good chance, but in the end we were a little bit short.”
The win completes excellent seasons for Kjeldsen and Olesen, with both finishing in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex and the latter extending his streak of winning seasons on the European Tour to three with victory at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Denmark’s previous best finish at the World Cup of Golf had been in 2001, when Thomas Bjørn and Soren Hansen finished in a tie for second after losing in a play-off, and for Kjeldsen it was a first victory in his sixth outing, while Olesen was making his third appearance.
“When you hole a putt and you can fist pump with your partner and your caddies, it makes it a lot more fun. It was a real four man team this week. I thought both of our caddies did a tremendous job this week keeping us calm, and allowing us to play our game,”said Olesen.
Rickie Fowler admitted the US charge was hampered by poor putting.
He said: “We wanted to get off to a quick start and we knew we wanted to go out and play aggressively. We hit the shots, just didn’t get anything to go in early. So I felt like from tee to green, we didn’t really miss many shots.
“It’s always easier if you hit it a little bit closer, but really we just didn’t get the putts to go in early enough.”
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World Cup of Golf: Denmark secure first victory
