Team spirit proves a winner for great Danes Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen at World Cup of Golf, and will Tiger Woods be “spectacular” on his comeback?
The biggest prizes might have been handed out for another year but there is still lots for golf fans to get excited about, not least a magnificent win for Denmark at the weekend and the return of Tiger Woods.
There was great entertainment on offer in Melbourne, where Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen earned the Danes their first World Cup of Golf triumph in great style.
Their round of 60 in Friday’s fourballs was phenomenal, and they really seemed to embrace the team nature of the contest. Their demeanour as a pair was fantastic and their camaraderie buoyant throughout.
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It’s been a brilliant few weeks for Olesen, following his victory at the Turkish Airlines Open earlier this month – the biggest win of the 26-year-old’s career.
He was excellent alongside Kjeldsen, who has also been playing very well for a few months – all year, in fact – and the 41-year-old proved the ideal partner for his younger compatriot.
It wasn’t a tournament to remember for players from the British Isles.
The Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams did nothing, while England’s Andy Sullivan was sick all week and had a torrid time.
Is World Cup of Golf format right?
The Danes won at a canter in the end and it is always very tough to catch a team in fourballs.
There is an argument that you could switch to a fourball aggregate, which would increase the chances of movement in the leaderboard, but the World Cup is all about better-ball play.
Foursomes have been incorporated to make it more exciting. Was it better before? It’s hard to say. But it ain’t broke, so I wouldn’t change the current format.
It was a very successful week all round – as well as a welcome win for a European team.
A lot of credit ought to go to Kingston Heath Golf Club. The course looked out of this world and from experience I know that everything about the venue is fantastic for a golfer.
Tiger's comeback
Tiger Woods is sue to make a long-awaited return to competitive golf this week (Source: Getty)
It has been well over a year since his last competitive appearance but Tiger is due to make his return this week at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and I can’t wait to see how he gets on.
Woods has won this tournament, which he hosts, five times and it’s definitely possible that he could make it six on Sunday.
His legacy has long been assured whatever happens, but when these guys come back they come back strong.
Jesper Parnevik, who knows Tiger well, said recently that he has seen him practising first-hand and thinks his return could be “spectacular”.
I’d love to see that and I don’t think there’s a golfer on the planet who wouldn’t.
Woods won’t be the only esteemed golfer taking centre stage at the Hero World Challenge, of course.
Also in attendance and defending the pro-am title that he won last year will be my cousin, City A.M. co-founder Lawson Muncaster. Good luck!