Danish golfer Thorbjorn Olesen, who still has a sexual assault charge pending, shot a course-record 61 on Friday during the second round of the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open and leads the Euro Tour event.
Olesen had yet to make a start in 2021 after a positive COVID test and a wrist injury, but he followed Thursday’s 65 with a scintillating 61 that included an eagle on the fourth hole.
Olesen was charged with sexual assault, common assault and being drunk on an aircraft during a flight from Nashville to London following his participation in the 2019 WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
According to multiple reports, Olesen allegedly assaulted a woman and urinated in the aisle of a plane while drunk on the flight. The Sun reported that Ian Poulter had to calm Olesen down after he was allegedly abusive toward passengers and crew in first class. Olesen allegedly assaulted the woman while Poulter slept.
“He started abusing some of the passengers and crew and then made a pass at one of the female passengers before taking a leak in the aisle,” one passenger on the flight told The Sun. “It was shocking behavior.”
Olesen has pleaded not guilty to all three charges and his court case has been delayed to December 2021. The European Tour suspended Olesen on Aug. 6, 2019, pending the investigation into his arrest, but reinstated him in July of 2020.
Meanwhile, Dutchman Wil Besseling charged up the board as he followed Thursday’s 64 with another impressive showing. Maximilian Kieffer, Robin Rousell and Matthias Schwab are all sitting at 12 under after two days, a pair of strokes behind Olesen.
Birdie machine
Wil Besseling is seven under par on his round and making a big move up the leaderboard.#GranCanariaLopesanOpen pic.twitter.com/WpXCDonCTq
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 23, 2021
The event is held at Meloneras Golf Course in the Canary Islands.