Thorbjorn Olesen, a 28-year-old Dane with five wins on the European tour, snagged the final automatic qualifying spot for the 2018 European Ryder Cup team Sunday. Olesen qualified after Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick failed to win the Made in Denmark Open.
“Cannot put into words how happy I am right now!” Oleson tweeted. “It’s always been my dream to be a Ryder Cup Player.”
Olesen joins a sneakily stout European squad that includes Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood (who earned their spots via European Points), and Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Alex Noren (World Points).
Cannot put into words how happy I am right now! It’s always been my dream to be a Ryder Cup Player, but it’s going to be even more special with my great friend @ThomasBjornGolf as captain! Bring it on 🇪🇺🇩🇰 pic.twitter.com/p8L3Pxz6ql
— Thorbjørn Olesen (@Thorbjornolesen) September 2, 2018
European captain Thomas Bjorn, also a Dane, will announce his four captain’s picks on Wednesday. Among the most likely candidates are Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Paul Casey, Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Thomas Pieters.
U.S. captain Jim Furyk will announce the first three of his four wildcard picks on Tuesday and his fourth and final pick on Sept. 9.
