Remember Him? Thorbjorn Olesen Conquers St. Andrews

There was nothing overtly spectacular about Thorbjorn Olesen's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship win at St. Andrews, though he did hold off closing surges from America's Brooks Koepka and Chris Stroud.

What was spectacular: at 25, Olesen was declared a next big thing not that long ago but has struggled to post a breakthrough win. Now he has one over a quality field and on the best of all links, but this is still a good reminder that in the rush to declare various youngsters the Golf Gods' gift to Golf, that this weird sport can derail even those who are so physically gifted (like Olesen). Oh, and that you aren't over the hill if you haven't won by the age of 22.

Martin Dempster on Olesen turning things around after a nightmare at Gullane.

Olesen’s third European Tour title triumph secured his card for next year, having come into this event sitting 124th in the Race to Dubai but leaving it in 25th position, and also made amends for the bitter disappointment he suffered in this season’s Scottish Open at Gullane, where he held the outright lead after an opening 63 only to then miss the cut following a second-round 77.

“When that happens, you are very disappointed and angry at yourself,” said Olesen, who was sidelined for three months earlier in the year after undergoing surgery on his left wrist. “You just try to get on with it and I really had some good people around me to help me with that.”

“I remember that night,” he added of finding himself out of the event in East Lothian, killing off his hopes of getting into the following week’s Open Championship at St Andrews in the process. “I shared a house with Thomas Bjorn and Soren Hansen and we had a few drinks. We were all a bit sad, so we talked a lot of s*** and just had a few drinks."

European Tour highlights here, with nice aerial views of the Old Course.