Perth International 2014: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
Thorbjorn Olesen chalked up the second European Tour victory of his career on Sunday, as he kept his cool to land the Perth International at Lake Karrinyup, per European Tour:
The Dane went into the final day with a healthy three-shot lead, but he still needed to show a cool head to card a one-under-par 71 and land the tournament with a 17-under-par total.
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Here’s a look at the final leaderboard from an eventful tournament Down Under:
| Position | Golfer | To Par |
| 1 | Thorbjorn Olesen | -17 |
| 2 | Victor Dubuisson | -14 |
| 3 | Mark Foster | -12 |
| T4 | Matthew Griffin | -11 |
| T4 | Steve Dartnall | -11 |
| T4 | Lucas Bjerregaard | -11 |
| T4 | David Drysdale | -11 |
| T4 | James Morrison | -11 |
| T9 | Wade Ormsby | -10 |
| T9 | Ryan Fox | -10 |
| T9 | Andrea Pavin | -10 |
| T9 | Richard Green | -10 |
| T9 | Peter Uihlein | -10 |
For the full leaderboard, visit Europeantour.com. Video highlights can be found on the tour's official site by clicking here.
With Olesen holding such a big lead ahead of Sunday’s action, it was all just a case of whether or not the 24-year-old could remain composed and romp to victory.
Having hunted flags throughout the week, the Dane had the luxury of playing to the middle of greens and saying “catch me if you can” to the rest of the field.
Three bogies and four birdies in tough conditions gave Olesen the impressive 71 that his golf deserved, although he was looking over his shoulder a little at times.
While his nearest competitors at the start of the day failed to do any real damage to the leaderboard, several players came out of nowhere with low rounds, including Victor Dubuisson.
The French Ryder Cup star carded six birdies without a single blemish for a round of 66, taking him to 14 under par for the tournament.
Two early bogies in Olesen’s back nine opened the tournament up as he sat on 15 under with work to do, but a pair of birdies from his next three holes made sure of the victory.
Following his round, the Dane reflected on a tough but very satisfying day at the office—per European Tour:
"It was tough – they were not easy conditions today. 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 focussed, and seeing if I could make a few birdies coming in. It was a tough day but it was worth it—that walk down 18 was beautiful. My driving and a couple of three woods were off line which made it tricky, but I made some great putts coming in. It’s been a couple of years since I won last time, so this gives me a lot of confidence and belief for the last bit of the season, this has been a great week and I’ve really enjoyed being here.
"
Though Olesen’s putter let him down in the middle of the round, the way that he’s performed with the flat stick throughout the tournament is what’s arguable landed him his second Tour title, as European Tour’s statistics show:
At just 24 years of age, the future’s bright for Olesen, who demonstrated a mature head on young shoulders throughout the week in Perth.
The next stop for the European Tour is the BMW Masters in Shanghai, where Olesen will be looking to continue his outstanding form and hunt down title No. 3.
Day 3 Report
Thorbjorn Olesen continued to show strong form at the Perth International Open and takes a three-stroke lead into the final day of the contest after notching a score of five-under in Saturday's third round.
The Dane had been following Peter Whiteford heading into the third day of action at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, but a three-over-par score of 75 on Saturday saw the Scot plummet down the rankings.
Olesen wasn't quite able to match his opening-day heroics where he shot 64 to get matters started in promising fashion, but a dominant average on each day of competition thus far sees him in prime position to bring home silverware.
Here is the leaderboard after Day 3's play:
| Position | Player | To Par | Round 3 Score |
| 1 | Thorbjorn Olesen | -16 | 67 |
| 2 | Sihwan Kim | -13 | 69 |
| 3 | James Morrison | -12 | 69 |
| 4 | Peter Uihlein | -11 | 65 |
| T5 | Richard Green | -10 | 70 |
| T5 | David Drysdale | -10 | 71 |
| T7 | Mark Foster | -9 | 67 |
| T7 | Lucas Bjerregaard | -9 | 66 |
| T7 | Gary Stal | -9 | 67 |
| T7 | Marcus Fraser | -9 | 68 |
| T7 | Stephen Dartnall | -9 | 70 |
| T7 | Charl Schwartzel | -9 | 75 |
For the full leaderboard, visit Europeantour.com. Video highlights can be found on the tour's official site by clicking here.
It was clear from the start that Olesen meant business in Round 3, registering half of his six total birdies on Saturday within the span of his first four holes, per the PGA of Australia:
However, it wasn't powerful drives nor blistering fairway play that paved the way for his rise, with Olesen showing more delicate touched on and around the green as his putting and bunker shots impressed most.
There were times where the 24-year-old's day was at risk of coming apart, but some stellar saves for par meant only one bogey was recorded on the day. Speaking after his impressive display, Olesen was quoted by the Associated Press (h/t ESPN) as saying:
"It was a grind out there. I was struggling but I kept on fighting, kept having fun out there and trying my best. Five under is a pretty good score when you're not playing that great. I hit some awesome bunker shots today. I missed one on 15 which was almost impossible but I had some great up and downs, almost holed a couple.
"
Following Olesen into Sunday's action comes Sihwan Kim, who himself endured a mixed day involving four birdies, three bogeys and an eagle.
The South Korean may have become understandably demoralised when two of those bogeys came during the last four holes of his front nine, but recovered to make a much better go of things over the back stretch.
A great deal of attention went toward Peter Uihlein, however, as the American shot sen-under to ascend into fourth and put the disappointments of Thursday and Friday behind him.
Coming into Saturday's events, Uihlein was four-under after managing a lowest score of 69 on the opening day, but as Bridget Lacy of The West Australian confirms, his Round 3 score was considerably more impressive:
His was the best score of any player managed on Saturday, and if the United States is to produce a victor in Perth, Uihlein seems the best bet, lying five strokes off leader Olesen. Countryman Jason Dufner is his nearest American opponent, currently tied in 19th and seemingly out of the running.
Perthhas proven to be an open and welcoming environment for this weekend's visitors thus far, with yet more low scores expected on Sunday, where all drama will come to a crescendo.
Day 2 Report
Scotland's Peter Whiteford shot a second consecutive round of 66 on Day 2 of the 2014 Perth International at Lake Karrinyup Country Club to take the outright lead on 12-under par going into the weekend.
Whiteford's card was completely bogey-free on Friday as he leapfrogged first round joint-leader Thorbjorn Olesen late on to take the outright lead. The 34-year-old needs a win this week to keep his European Tour card for next season.
Another day of low scoring—which included a course-record round of 63 from James Morrison—sees a very strong chasing pack sitting only a few shots back and thus it could be all change over the weekend before a winner is crowned on Sunday.
Here is the leaderboard after Day 2's play:
| Position | Player | To Par | Round 2 Score |
| 1 | Peter Whiteford | -12 | 66 |
| 2 | Thorbjorn Olesen | -11 | 69 |
| 3 | Sihwan Kim | -10 | 68 |
| T4 | James Morrison | -9 | 63 |
| T4 | David Drysdale | -9 | 68 |
| T6 | Richard Green | -8 | 68 |
| T6 | John Wade | -8 | 72 |
| 8 | Charl Schwartzel | -7 | 69 |
| T9 | Victor Dubuisson | -6 | 67 |
| T9 | Marcus Fraser | -6 | 70 |
For the full leaderboard, visit Europeantour.com. Video highlights can be found on the tour's official site by clicking here.
Whiteford started at the 10th and parred each of his front-nine holes bar the 11th, on which he claimed a birdie four.
However, his back nine was where he really turned on the style, picking up three birdies in his first four holes before he took himself past Olesen with an eagle three at the par-five seventh for the second day running, per the PGA of Australia:
Olesen supplemented his fantastic 64 from his first round with a very solid 69 to take the early outright clubhouse lead, prior to Whiteford's late surge.
The 24-year-old Dane—also starting his round on the 10th—opened up with three pars before back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th.
Olesen picked up his first bogey of the tournament on his final front-nine hole but two birdies prior to that saw him card in the 60s once again. He was satisfied with his second round, which puts him in prime position for the weekend, per the European Tour:
"It's always tough to come back after a great round. To shoot another good round is tough. I felt like I played solid out there and gave myself a lot of chances for birdie, especially on the front nine. I had a few lip-outs, but the pins were a little bit trickier today and it made to a bit trickier with the putter. So I'm happy with the way I played; I hit a lot of greens and that's important here.
"
South Korea's Sihwan Kim also showed consistency as he shot a four-under 68 to reach 10-under for the tournament.
As the European Tour reports, Kim's future on the circuit is in jeopardy, but his five birdies on Friday have given him a terrific chance of getting what he needs this weekend, although a final-hole bogey will have frustrated him greatly:
The 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwarzel remains a significant threat to those atop the leaderboard after the South African recovered from three front-nine bogeys to shoot a 69 and finish on seven under.
Equally, French Ryder Cup hero Victor Dubuisson sits comfortably in the chasing pack on six-under par after a round of 67, which included a magnificent approach to his final hole, handing him a tap-in for a finishing birdie.
Round of the day went to Englishman Morrison whose 63 to move to nine-under par came courtesy of a bogey-less round and nine birdies.
Overnight joint-leader John Wade could only manage a level-par round of 72 after his eight-under first day but the Australian remains very much in contention going into the weekend.
It should be a fascinating two days' play to come on Saturday and Sunday because the openers have proven it is possible to shoot incredibly low around the Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
With that in mind, almost all the players who have made the one-under cut are still in with a chance of glory come Sunday, and with the strength of the leading pack, it is effectively impossible to pick a winner after the first two days.
Day 1 Report
John Wade and Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen top the leaderboard after Day 1 at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, the pair having both carded fantastic eight-under rounds of 64 in their openers.
As the European Tour reports, they both broke the course record to head a strong field which saw a lot of low scoring on the first day of play:
Four players sit two shots further back, including Australian Michael Sim, while Englishman Mark Foster joins a large group on five-under par.
Here is the current leaderboard after Day 1:
| Position | Player | To Par | Round 1 Score |
| T1 | John Wade | -8 | 64 |
| T1 | Thorbjorn Olesen | -8 | 64 |
| T3 | Michael Sim | -6 | 66 |
| T3 | Peter Whiteford | -6 | 66 |
| T3 | Sihwan Kim | -6 | 66 |
| T3 | Tom Lewis | -6 | 66 |
| T7 | Brett Rumford | -5 | 67 |
| T7 | David Drysdale | -5 | 67 |
| T7 | Mark Foster | -5 | 67 |
| T7 | Matthew Griffin | -5 | 67 |
For the full leaderboard, visit Europeantour.com. Video highlights can be found on the tour's official site by clicking here.
Australian Wade had a bogey-less first round which started in phenomenal fashion. The 46-year-old—who started on the 10th—recorded four birdies in his first five holes before notching an eagle on the par-five 15th.
A couple more birdies on the back nine and some terrific consistent hitting saw him shoot a 64 and take an early lead in Perth, an unfamiliar situation for Wade, as he pointed out, per the European Tour:
"It feels a bit weird actually. I certainly haven't been top of the leaderboard for a hell of a long time. I just got a fast start. I didn't play well last week, so wasn't a lot of form going in, but once I got a fast start, I had to think ‘well, maybe I've turned it around a little bit’. I didn't really leave any out there. I got a couple of up and downs in and stuff like that, which helps your round, definitely.
"
Another Aussie, Perth-born Brett Rumford, also gave the home crowd a decent show as he shot a round of 67 to put himself firmly in the mix early on.
As the tournament's Twitter feed highlights, the 37-year-old has form around the course, but a bogey on the par-four sixth—his 15th—slowed his momentum somewhat:
The 2013 U.S. PGA champion Jason Dufner returned to play on Thursday after his recent injury struggles and failed to really find his rhythm, but he managed to finish with a two-under par score of 70.
A topsy-turvy back nine saw the American pick up five birdies and two bogeys, and he finished well with a three on the par-four ninth, which should set him up well for his Friday round.
One of the field's other major winners, Charl Schwartzel—playing with Dufner and Rumford—fared well also, the South African carding a four-under 68 with just one bogey in his round.
A beautiful putt on the eighth—his penultimate hole—saw him claim a birdie before he also finished with a three, holing out from the fringe of the ninth green.
Defending champion Jin Jeong had to settle for a level-par round as he started his campaign for back-to-back titles in Perth, the South Korean cancelling out four bogeys with the same number of birdies.
With a huge proportion of the field under par after the first round, it is clear that there are a lot of form golfers on show in Perth, and it is likely to be highly competitive in the coming days.
If Wade and Olesen can keep their respective runs going, they will be tough to beat, but there will inevitably be some chopping and changing in Friday's action before the field is cut for the weekend.
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