Thorbjorn Olesen has had his suspension lifted by the European Tour due to a long delay in his court case amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The Danish golfer was arrested and charged after an incident on board a flight from the USA to London in July last year, which had the tour suspend him as a result in August 2019.
But, the 30-year-old Olesen will now be allowed to compete once again when the European Tour gets its revised season resumed at the British Masters at month’s end.
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In a statement, the European Tour said the coronavirus pandemic has hindered the process of his trial and that it would only be fair for him to compete again until his case resumes in December 2021.
‘It was initially mutually agreed between the European Tour and Olesen that it would be inappropriate for him to continue to participate in Tour events until the conclusion of his trial, which was originally fixed for Monday, May 11, 2020.
‘Due to this significant and unparalelled delay in the legal process, the European Tour has agreed that his suspension be lifted with immediate effect, allowing him to compete while he continues to contest the case,’ read the statement.
Responding, Olesen was excited about returning to competion once again while he also apologised for allegedly urinating on a fellow airline passenger while intoxicated.
‘Obviously, the case itself is still ongoing, so I will continue to make no comment about it. I am incredibly sad about what has happened and would like to apologise to all the Danes who have supported me for so many years,’ said the five-time Tour winner.
‘I basically haven’t played golf in a year. I played for a week in November in Spain, and then I’ve been playing for the last couple of weeks – that’s it.
‘Since I started playing, I’ve never had anything like that where I haven’t played in such a long time. It’s hard. I can only say that the trial is set for December 2021 and I can’t say that much anymore.’
