Olesen stays suspended from European Tour amid assault case

Associated Press

18 September 2019 at 9:20 am

Danish golfer and Ryder Cup winner Thorbjorn Olesen, left, arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in London, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, after being charged with sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and common assault. Olesen was arrested on 29 July after returning from the WGC St Jude Invitational on a flight from Nashville to London. Police were waiting for the 29-year-old when the aircraft landed at Heathrow. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Danish golfer and Ryder Cup winner Thorbjorn Olesen arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in London, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, after being charged with sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and common assault. Olesen was arrested on 29 July after returning from the WGC St Jude Invitational on a flight from Nashville to London. Police were waiting for the 29-year-old when the aircraft landed at Heathrow. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Danish golfer and Ryder Cup winner Thorbjorn Olesen, left, leaves after his hearing at Isleworth Crown Court in London, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, after being charged with sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and common assault. Olesen was arrested on 29 July after returning from the WGC St Jude Invitational on a flight from Nashville to London. Police were waiting for the 29-year-old when the aircraft landed at Heathrow. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Britain Olesen

Danish golfer and Ryder Cup winner Thorbjorn Olesen, left, arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in London, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, after being charged with sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and common assault. Olesen was arrested on 29 July after returning from the WGC St Jude Invitational on a flight from Nashville to London. Police were waiting for the 29-year-old when the aircraft landed at Heathrow. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LONDON (AP) — Danish golfer Thorbjorn Olesen will remain suspended from the European Tour until at least December after being charged with sexual assault and being drunk on an aircraft.

The 29-year-old Olesen appeared in court in London on Wednesday in relation to the charges. No pleas were entered at a short hearing, with a plea hearing due to be held on Dec. 13.

Olesen previously indicated he would plead not guilty to the charges. A provisional trial date has been set for May 11 next year, with that hearing scheduled to last five days.

The European Tour said in a statement to The Associated Press that Olesen "remains suspended from the European Tour while the case continues." The tour didn't say whether he would stay suspended once he enters a plea.

Olesen, who was a member of Europe's Ryder Cup-winning team in 2018 and is a five-time European Tour winner, was arrested on July 29 after returning to London from a World Golf Championship event in Tennessee.

He has also been charged with assault by beating.

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