Great Dane Olesen Savours Amateur Championship Glory

Ballyliffin, Ireland: Jacob Skov Olesen etched his name into the history books at Ballyliffin as he became the first Danish golfer to win The Amateur Championship.

The 25-year-old staved off a dogged fightback from England's Dominic Clemons in the 36-hole showdown over the Glashedy Links and emerged with a 4&3 victory to put a silver lining on a memorable Championship debut.

As well as lifting one of the most prestigious trophies in the amateur game, Olesen’s triumph earned him an exemption for The 152nd Open at Royal Troon next month, the 2025 US Open and, by tradition, an invitation to the Masters Tournament next April.

Olesen said: “It’s an honour. I’m really proud to be the first Danish winner. I hope it can inspire someone else from Denmark to win next year or maybe some other years in the future.

“I can now finally say I’m tired. I couldn’t say that the other days. You don’t want to seem like you’re out of energy. It’s been a long couple of days but some really good days. I feel really happy. I feel really proud and honoured.”

Clemson, who ousted Chinese Taipei’s Kent Hsiao in the second round of match play, was left to contemplate what might have been.

He said: “I usually pride myself on playing my best golf when it matters and when the pressure is on, and I didn’t do that today. I didn’t play well enough to win, simple as that.

“Too many shots this morning. Too many three-putts. Giving too many early Christmas presents, basically.”

In an absorbing contest, which provided a fitting finale to six days of terrific competition on the northwest tip of Ireland, Olesen looked to be coasting to victory when he chipped in for a birdie on the 23rd to move into a commanding six-hole lead.

Clemons, who was two-down after the morning’s opening 18 holes, appeared to be losing his composure as the match drifted away from him, but he rallied admirably to give himself a glimmer of hope in the run-in.

A birdie putt of 35-feet on the 27th reduced the deficit before he drove the green on the 370-yard 28th to set up an eagle opportunity.

In a thrilling twist, Olesen holed his bunker shot for a birdie to pile the pressure on his opponent, but Clemons responded to that counter-punch and made his putt for a hole-winning two to pinch another back.

University of Arkansas student Olesen went five-up again, however, on the 30th and got a fortunate break on the 31st when his wayward approach ended up in a favourable lie on the adjacent tee and he halved the hole.

Five down with five to play, and with defeat staring him in the face, Clemons kept the contest alive with a mighty birdie putt across the green on the 32nd.

The 22-year-old’s hopes of pulling off a great escape suffered a blow on the 33rd, though, when he had to take an unplayable lie after his drive buried itself in a tangle of rough.

Clemons conjured a fine recovery and found the green, but he couldn’t salvage his par and Olesen had the luxury of two putts for the title.

Olesen said: “On 15, the last putt there, I was thinking, two putts from 15 feet and you get to play The Open, the Masters and the US Open. That was probably the first time I really allowed myself to think about it. It’s what you dream of since you were a kid, to get to play those courses and play against those fields. It’s really cool.”

The foundations for Olesen’s triumph were laid in the morning’s opening 18 holes as the Dane forged a crucial advantage.

Clemons had struck an early blow with a birdie on the third to move one-up – it was the only time he was leading all day - but a run of four bogeys over the next five holes saw that advantage swiftly evaporate as Olesen moved to three-up.

Clemons, who was aiming to add The Amateur Championship to the Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay title he won at Muirfield earlier in the month, reduced the leeway with a birdie on the par-five 13th.

A superb chip from just off the 14th green to within gimme distance gave him a chance of clawing another hole back, but Olesen holed a testing 12-footer for a half. The Dane’s vigorous fist-pump underlined the significance of the moment.

Clemons was then left to rue a three-putt bogey on the 15th as Olesen increased his lead to three again, but the Gog Magog member quickly countered with a putt of 30-feet on the 16th for a hole-winning birdie.

Olesen stood firm and maintained his two-hole advantage before completing his conquest in the afternoon and becoming The 129th Amateur Champion.