Olesen, Bjerregaard & Bjørn to tee off in Lahinch for DDF Irish Open
Paraic McMahon
*Thorbjørn Olesen. Photograph: Getty Images
Danish trio, Thorbjørn Olesen, Lucas Bjerregaard and Thomas Bjørn are the latest additions to a strong field for July's Dubai Duty Free Irish Open which takes place at Lahinch Golf Club.
Ryder Cup star Thorbjørn Olesen will lead a trio of great Danes at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this July when he is joined by the winning captain in Paris, Thomas Bjørn, as well as Denmark's highest-ranked player Lucas Bjerregaard. Tournament host, Paul McGinley confirmed the news on Thursday afternoon noting "The field is really taking shape for Lahinch".
Olesen returns to Ireland, where he notched up a top ten finish last year, following a winning Ryder Cup debut last September when on the final day he dispatched of Jordan Spieth 5&4 as Team Europe romped to a 17½-10½ victory over Jim Furyk's USA team at Le Golf National.
For Captain Bjørn, it was a monumental achievement against a much-fancied American team and the 15-time European Tour winner will no doubt receive a warm welcome in County Clare – especially as a former champion of the event in 2006.
Joining Olesen and Bjørn at Lahinch Golf Club is Bjerragaard, who last month overcame Tiger Woods in the quarter-finals of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship, two weeks before the American claimed his 15th Major title at the Masters Tournament.
"I'm really looking forward to returning to Ireland this year," said Olesen, a Rolex Series winner last year in Italy, and a man who has played the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open for the past four successive years. "It is always an event I really enjoy, the golf courses are generally great and the Irish fans are some of the best in the world. I have heard really good things about Lahinch Golf Club and it looks like it will be perfect preparation for The Open Championship two weeks later. It's all set up to be a fantastic few weeks of golf."
Bjørn added, "I love the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, it's always a fun event and it is always a pleasure to play on these great Irish links courses for such a big tournament. Paul is a good friend of mine and I know he has put a huge amount of work into making this a special event, so I have no doubt it will be a week to remember."
Bjerregaard is hopeful of seeing a Danish winner in July. "I really enjoy links golf and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is always a huge event on the calendar, as a Rolex Series event with such a long history. Obviously Søren Kjeldsen won in 2015 and Thomas and Søren Hansen have won this tournament too, so hopefully one of us Danes can add to that list in July."
They join an impressive field of golfers which already includes Tommy Fleetwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood, Russell Knox, Shane Lowry, Pádraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter.