Thorbjorn Olesen Has European Tour Suspension Lifted

The European Tour has lifted Thorbjorn Olesen’s suspension after the “unprecedented delay in court proceedings” due to Covid-19.

The Dane can now tee it up later this month at the British Masters, which would be almost a year since his last appearance on the European Tour.

Olesen’s court case has been pushed back to December 2021, and after discussions with his legal team the European Tour has confirmed he can get back to competing.

The five-time European Tour winner’s suspension began in August 6, 2019 after he was arrested and charged on three counts following an alleged incident on a flight from Nashville to London in late July following the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational.

He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

“It was initially mutually agreed between the European Tour and Olesen that it would be inappropriate for him to continue to participate in Tour events until the conclusion of his trial, which was originally fixed for Monday May 11, 2020,” the European Tour said in a statement.

His trial has been pushed back significantly, meaning his suspension would last over 850 days if it remained.

“Due to this significant and unparalleled delay in the legal process, the European Tour has agreed that his suspension be lifted with immediate effect, allowing him to compete while he continues to contest the case,” the European Tour continued.

The European Tour also say that it will review Olesen’s suspension after the trial.

Olesen said: “While my team and I initially agreed that I would not participate in Tour events while the legal proceedings were outstanding, I am naturally grateful to the European Tour for allowing me to continue my career following the lengthy adjournment of my trial.

“Obviously, the case itself is still on-going so I will continue to make no comment about it.”

He recently played in the Danish PGA Championship, where he apologised to his fans.

“I am incredibly sad about what has happened and would like to apologise to all the Danes who have supported me for so many years,” the 2018 Ryder Cupper said.

“I basically haven’t played golf in a year. I played for a week in November in Spain, and then I’ve been playing for the last couple of weeks – that’s it.

“Since I started playing, I’ve never had anything like that where I haven’t played in such a long time. It’s hard.

“I can only say that the trial is set for December 2021 and I can’t say that much anymore.

“I hope, of course, that I will be able to come out and play again.”

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