Olesen ready for showdown

Last updated: 20th January 2013

Danish golfer Thorbjorn Olesen is looking forward to a final day showdown with Justin Rose at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Olesen, currently two shots off the pace after three rounds at the Abu Dhabi Championship, said he was well equipped to make an impression on what is expected to be a tough final round of golf.

"I've never played with Justin I think, so definitely it will be nice to go out with him tomorrow," said an excited Olesen.

"I think the course suits me great. It's quite long and you need to be straight; and then the greens are tricky, and then I find it really easy the first two days to read the greens," added the 22-year-old Dane, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise on the European Tour in the past year.

"Today I struggled a little bit, but it was a good day. I played really solid today.

"I won last year and that gave me a lot of confidence, and I had a few second places. I'm learning in every tournament, and it's been a really good process the last three years. Hopefully I can make a few birdies tomorrow and make it exciting," he added.

Many inexperienced golfers tend to be intimidated when there is significant pressure on the final round of a tournament, which results in them relying on defensive tactics to pull through.

However, Olesen has indicated that he is going to be aggressive as possible and play to win.

"I'm going to try to be aggressive tomorrow. I thought I was pretty aggressive today but I didn't hole the putts I needed to - hopefully I can make a few more putts tomorrow."

The key to securing a positive result on the final round of play will be to make early inroads against Rose, who has proven many times in the past that he is more than capable of holding on when the going gets tough.

"It looks like Justin's playing really well, but if I can get some birdies in quickly; I think it can be exciting," said the 22-year-old Dane.