Andrew Coltart reflects on Thorbjorn Olesen's 'special' victory

Andrew Coltart believes Thorbjorn Olesen showed great courage to claim a 'special' victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Olesen bounced back from a slow start to card a one-under 71 on the Old Course to finish two clear of American pair Brooks Koepka and Chris Stroud, giving the 25-year-old something to smile about after an injury-plagued season.

The Dane discovered a tendon problem in his left hand over the winter but battled on for four events, before undergoing surgery after his last appearance in Malaysia at the start of February.

Olesen lost a play-off to George Coetzee in Mauritius in his first tournament back but had made the cut in just three of his 13 strokeplay events prior to this week, while also losing in the first round of the Paul Lawrie Match Play in Aberdeen.

But victory secures his future on the European Tour, with Coltart impressed with how the Dane kept his cool after losing his advantage early in his round.

"We've talked about the talent that this kid has," Coltart told Sky Sports 4. . "He has had a tough season with injury and had a good performance earlier in the year before that injury took hold, but when he had that shocking six at the second and then a birdie at the third we feared the worst for him.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

"I think he's starting to feel a lot more comfortable with his golf swing now; he has overcome a couple of gremlins in a fantastic performance today.

"Coming back from those three dropped shots early on showed a tremendous amount of courage and faith in his confidence and his ability to go out there and finish the job.

Olesen's European Tour playing card has looked under threat as he headed to Scotland 124th on the Race to Dubai, with just the top 110 retaining their cards at the end of the season.

But victory and the €525,000 prize giving him a two-year exemption on the tour, Coltart now expects Olesen to build on his win over the closing stretch of the season. 

"He had his stutter and got himself in to a bit of a dark place over the last ten months, finding it really, really tough.

"What a rollercoaster it has been for this young man and it's fantastic that he has held on to win under and incredible amount of pressure today.

"He's going to have to re-jig his schedule now as he wasn't set to be playing in those (the Final Series) events. He'll be full of confidence now and he's going to have some fantastic tournaments to look forward to in the next few weeks."