Thorbjorn Olesen (-27) has won the Ras al Khaimah Championship by a landslide. Nothing too surprising given the Dane’s track record. He came into this Sunday having won six of the seven times he had led on the final day, and also started with a four-stroke lead. It would have to go very wrong for Olesen not to claim victory. Now it’s seven out of eight.
The truth is that things did get ugly with a double bogey on hole 2 after hitting one of the worst tee shots of the week. It added relative uncertainty and, above all, made Rasmus Hojgaard believe that perhaps the sorpasso was possible. He solved it quickly. Birdie on the 3rd with a kilometre-long putt and, above all, a legendary 3-wood on hole 8 to quash any attempt at rebellion. He had 236 metres to the hole and left it two for birdie. Sensational.
That’s where the story ended. Yes, in a golf tournament anything can happen, but when it’s Olesen who’s involved and playing well, the surprise is much harder. The Dane has that ability. He’s very good and when he’s on form it’s extremely difficult to beat him, as he feels capable of anything. He doesn’t even flinch at a double bogey because he knows he has the ability to fix it that week. So it was.
Olesen’s eagle coincided with a bogey from Rasmus, so from being tied for the lead it went to a three-stroke lead. That was it. The Nordic’s eighth victory was already a reality. No one was going to take it away from him. Just in case, he still made very good putts to ward off ghosts, like on the 10th, 17th and 18th. His performance on the greens of the Al Hamra Golf Club has been impressive.
Hojgaard, who never lost face, but who lacked more success with the putt to really put pressure on his countryman, had to settle for a notable second place. From twin to twin. Nicolai was second in the Farmers and a day later Rasmus was in the United Arab Emirates. It all stays in the family.
The million-dollar question is what can we now expect from Olesen. Will he finally make the leap to become one of the top thirty players in the world? Will he be able to find that consistency? The reality is that he has it all. When he’s at his best, he’s an extraordinary golfer, but his form is unpredictable. It’s worth remembering that he has a PGA Tour card. It will be interesting to see what he can do this year on the other side of the Atlantic. For now, the Masters has put him in the running. He’s among the top 60 in the world.
Also notable in the top 10 is Japanese Keita Nakajima, whose debut on the DP World Tour has been notable with a fourth place. Also brilliant is the third place of Frederic Lacroix, a player with a lot of power from the tee and a certain winning instinct shown on the Challenge Tour. Similarly, Kieffer, Stone, Paul and Shinkwin finished in fourth place.
As for the Spaniards, it was not the dream final day for those who started closer to the leaders. Ángel Hidalgo (-16) was the best of ours, in the top 10. A step forward for the Malaga player after a somewhat irregular final round of 71 strokes. It’s his first top 10 since India in February last year. He’s got the combine harvester working.
The best of ours on Sunday was Nacho Elvira (-14). Final round of 67 strokes, the third consecutive with that score, and top 20 in the tournament. Fantastic end to a tournament that started off as a disaster in terms of play. He also managed to secure a solid top 25 his brother Manu Elvira (-12), with a final card of 74 strokes. It hasn’t been a good weekend, but he never stops adding. The vital signs are very good.
Further back were Jorge Campillo (-10), Rafa Cabrera Bello (-10), Alejandro del Rey (-10) and Sebastián García Rodríguez (-10), all tied in 37th place. The best in this final round was Rafa with 69 strokes, his third consecutive round with this result.
