Thorbjorn Olesen was able to fend off the challenge of David Horsey in the final round of the Turkish Airlines Open and shot 69 to win by three strokes on 20 under par.
The 26-year-old grabbed his fourth European Tour title to recover from a bad spell that included nine missed cuts in 12 starts.
‘The last couple of months have been pretty poor and I haven’t played well and all of a sudden you’re leading by a big margin and it was difficult when you haven’t been playing well for that long,’ he said.
The Dane roared into the lead with a Friday round of 62 and never looked back, shooting 68 on Saturday for a seven-shot lead going into the final round.
Horsey came out firing and turned in 29, but failed to overcome the hefty deficit and was second alongside China’s Haotong Li on 17 under par.
‘It was a weird feeling,’ Olesen explained. ‘I knew the guys today were able to shoot a low number so I had to make a few birdies. After nine holes guys were shooting really low numbers, so all of a sudden there was a lot of pressure on. I felt like I kept it pretty steady. Obviously the last four holes were tough mentally.’
George Coetzee led the first round with an impressive 64, but took quadruple-bogey eight at the 10th hole on Friday and fell out of the picture.
He showcased fine golf over the weekend with rounds of 66 and 67, including only two bogeys, and finished in sole fifth on 14 under par.
