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April 15th, 2013

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The experts were expecting Thorbjørn Olesen, a debutant at last week’s US Masters in Augusta, to struggle due to his lack of experience, and in a way, they were right, as he shot an opening round of 78, six over par. 

But as the young Dane started getting used to the unique conditions and atmosphere of the world’s most famous course, he started to prosper, and by Sunday, he had walked off the final green as the clubhouse leader. He would eventually finish sixth equal on four under par, five off the lead – not bad for a player 12 shots adrift after the first day.   

His final round of 68 was the third equal best score of the day. It followed on from a 68 on Saturday, the second equal best score of that day, which had catapulted him up the leaderboard to put him within striking distance of the leaders. 

While it would have taken a herculean effort to capture the green jacket – a course record 63 would have earned him a place in the playoff – it is worth noting that had he performed better on the first day, he could have been in the mix for his first major.  Unsurprisingly, his -10 score for the final three rounds was the best in the field, and it bodes well for next year. 

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old’s world ranking has once again risen, this time six places to an all-time high of 34. A glance at the rankings list reveals that for points solely gained in 2013, he would rank tenth, which coincidentally is the highest ever position achieved by a Danish golfer: Thomas Bjørn in 2001.

One record of Bjørn’s that Olesen did break was the Danish record for the best finishing position at the Masters. Bjørn had previously finished 18th in 2002. 

Bjørn – who was also competing in Augusta courtesy of his top 50 ranking at the beginning of the year, which has now fallen to 63rd – made the cut but suffered a disappointing weekend, carding rounds of 76 and 71 to finish joint 46th.