There was a lot of pressure on Thorbjorn Olesen before the Nordea Masters got underway after Ian Poulter forced his way into the top eight spots of the automatic qualification spots for the European team. The Englishman did it by finishing for a tie of 31st at the PGA Championship and it looked like he had done just about enough not to rely on a captain’s pick from Thomas Bjorn.
As it happens it turns out that Poulter may well need his old mate Thomas Bjorn to select him after Thorbjorn Olesen finished in fourth place at the Nordea Masters to steal the last automatic spot off Poulter in the European Ryder Cup standings.
There are few things harder in professional sport than having to play golf under pressure and finish in a certain position to attain a goal. Whether it be trying to keep a card, making it to the next stage in the playoffs or trying to qualify for the Ryder Cup, like Olesen was doing, the weight of expectation is normally too much. Golf is a game that has a heavy reliance on mind over matter when faced with the impossible and without any teammates to fall back on, the dream of fulfilling a goal can often fizzle out before it ever gets going.
Winner of the Nordea Masters Paul Waring is a testament to how cruel golf can be regardless of how hard you try as he only succeeded in winning his first event after 200 attempts.
That’s why Thorbjorn Olesen’s performance would have given fellow countryman Thomas Bjorn plenty to smile about as the 28-year-old was able to produce the goods under intense pressure. It may have been at the expense of Ian Poulter after being edged out by Olesen but it’s hard to imagine Bjorn will leave Poulter out if he doesn’t qualify given the 42-year-old’s Ryder Cup and match play prowess.
Nothing is official yet and qualifying will only end after the Made in Denmark event on the second of September. That is a home event for Olesen and one that he has fared well in the past after recording a top 15 finish last year. With home support and the ability to perform when needed to, you wouldn’t bet against Olesen driving home the advantage and securing his place on Bjorn’s team.
This all bodes well for Europe that the players on the fringes are fighting tooth and nail to make the team and there’s no doubt American captain Jim Furyk would have been monitoring the situation in Sweden over the weekend. Furyk has the luxury of being able to bring a wealth of talent over to European shores and at 5/6 to be the tournament winner in Ryder Cup betting at William Hill there’s little doubt who the favourites are.
It is worth saying noting, though, that the famous European fighting spirit is already being shown with qualifying heating up and it’s almost impossible to call how events will play out at Le Golf National in late September.
Thomas Bjorn made it clear that he would prefer Olesen qualify automatically instead of having to rely on a captain’s pick so that their friendship wasn’t put under strain. The 28-year-old has obliged and it looks for all money that he has done enough but there could still be a twist or two to come