Thorbjorn Olesen wins Perth International

Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark held firm to win the ISPS HANDA Perth International at Lake Karrinyup Country Club by three shots from France’s Victor Dubuisson.

Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark held firm to win the ISPS HANDA Perth International at Lake Karrinyup Country Club by three shots from France’s Victor Dubuisson.

Olesen began the final round three strokes clear of the field but saw that advantage reduced to one at the start of the back nine, after Dubuisson had posted a clubhouse total of 14-under-par.

But the 24-year-old Dane restored his three shot cushion with birdies at the 13th and 15th holes. He then parred his way in to secure his second European Tour title.

“It was tough – they were not easy conditions today,” said Olesen. “I missed a few short putts today in the middle of the round and I think that the lead got down to one shot, but I was just thinking about getting my round back to under par, keeping focused, and seeing if I could make a few birdies coming in.”

The victory has secured Olesen’s place in the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship. He’s moved to 42nd spot on the Race to Dubai rankings.

The other big story of the week was the battle to secure European Tour playing rights for 2015. Those in the top 111 on the Race to Dubai at the end of this tournament kept their cards for next season.

Matthew Nixon of England had been right on the bubble at the start of the week, in 111th place. But he made the cut and climbed to 110th.

David Drysdale of Scotland made the biggest move. 116th at the start of the tournament, he holed a long birdie putt on the 72nd hole to claim a share of fourth place and climb to 103rd on the Race to Dubai.

There were hard-luck stories too. Lee Slattery was 110th going into the event, but he missed the cut and slipped two places to 112th – one place shy of retaining his card. Andrea Pavan of Italy double-bogeyed the last to fall back into a tie for ninth. A par at the home hole would have earned the Italian a place in the top 111.

ISPS HANDA Perth International Lake Karrinyup Country Club, Perth, Australia Oct 23-26, purse €1,200,000, par 72

1    Thorbjorn Olesen (Den)    64    69    67    71    271    €198,300 2    Victor Dubuisson (Fra)    71    67    70    66    274    €132,200 3    Mark Foster (Eng)    67    73    67    69    276    €74,483 T4    Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 71    70    66    70    277    €43,405 T4    Steve Dartnall (Aus)    68    71    68    70    277    €43,405 T4    David Drysdale (Sco)    67    68    71    71    277    €43,405 T4    Matthew Griffin (Aus)    67    73    70    67    277    €43,405 T4    James Morrison (Eng)    72    63    69    73    277    €43,405 T9    Ryan Fox (NZL)        69    70    72    67    278    €21,695 T9    Richard Green (Aus)    68    68    70    72    278    €21,695 T9    Sihwan Kim (Kor)        66    68    69    75    278    €21,695 T9    Wade Ormsby (Aus)    72    68    72    66    278    €21,695 T9    Andrea Pavan (Ita)    71    70    67    70    278    €21,695 T9    Peter Uihlein (USA)    69    71    65    73    278    €21,695

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage