Weekend winners: Denmark land World Cup Down Under

World Cup of Golf: Denmark

For the first time in the history of the competition the team of Denmark, Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen, ran out winners and they did it by four shots in the end.

The United States (66), China (65) and France (63) tied for second and all made final-round charges, with America and China getting within one, but Olesen did all the damage on the back nine.

The Danes, who shot 60 in the Friday fourballs, only reached the turn in level par but then picked up six birdies coming home and Olesen finished it off in style with a 20-footer. In the end they finished on 20 under for the week.

Sweden combined for a 62 to finish five back in fifth. Ireland (McDowell and Lowry) tied for ninth, England (Wood and Sullivan) were 13^th, Scotland (Knox and Stewart) 19^th and Wales (Dredge and Manley) tied 22^nd in the 28-team field.

Denmark’s previous best finish had been in 2001, when Thomas Bjørn and Soren Hansen finished in a tie for second after losing in a play-off. This was Kjeldsen’s sixth appearance in the event and Olesen’s third outing.

Congratulations Denmark ??!

Winners of the 2016 #WorldCupOfGolf. https://t.co/l0XZQBPxBJ

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 27, 2016

What Kjeldsen said: “To win this beautiful trophy is amazing, and I think what’s so special about it is that we don’t get to lift a trophy with another player very often. So to experience that team feeling makes it even more special than an individual event.

“I think the psychology has been really interesting for me because when you play your own game, it’s different, but when you’ve got a guy like this on the back nine on Sunday, it’s like you feel you want to die for the guy.”

What Olesen said: “I had the feeling every time on the green that I really wanted to hole the putt, not just for me but for my partner too. Then all of a sudden on the back nine, they just started rolling in. It was not just for me, it was for Soren and me and our caddies and our country. That’s very special. When you hole a putt and you can fist pump with your partner and your caddies, it makes it a lot more fun. It was a real four-man team this week.”