The Ryder Cup-winning golfer accused of sexual assault on a Transatlantic plane journey told a court he has no memory of the flight

• Golfer Thorbjorn Olesen says he has no memory of the flight on which he is accused of sexually assaulting a woman.
• The Ryder Cup-winner told a court that he had taken sleeping pills and drunk alcohol at the time.

Ryder Cup-winning golfer Thorbjorn Olesen told a court in the UK that he has no memory of the flight on which he is accused of sexually assaulting a fellow passenger and urinating on another's seat.

Olesen is on trial at Aldersgate House Nightingale Court in London facing charges of sexual assault, assault by beating, and being drunk on an aircraft. He denies all charges.

In testimony given on Monday, the woman who accused the Dane of sexual assault said he had "grabbed" her breast during a flight from Nashville, Tennessee to the UK in July 2019, reports BBC Sport.

Witnesses also described how he wandered around the aircraft, fleeing from staff while making the sign of the cross. One witness called his behavior "completely bizarre," per a report from Sky Sports.

Speaking to the jury on Tuesday, Olesen said he had no memory of the flight and that he would never "consciously" risk his career by committing a crime, according to Sky Sports.

According to The Guardian, Olesen, now 31, said he had not slept well for weeks, having played several tournaments and had planned to sleep on the plane.

He added that he had consumed two beers and two glasses of wine with food on a private jet flight to Nashville, before drinking a vodka and cranberry juice before boarding the British Airways flight.

As well as consuming alcohol, Olesen said he took two melatonin tablets, which he regularly uses to combat jet lag, along with two Ambien pills that were put in his bag by his partner, Lauren Zafer.

Olesen said he "felt fine" boarding the plane, but does not remember almost any of the flight.

"My last memory is getting a glass of champagne and sitting down in my seat and I think I remember taking off," he said, according to Sky.

Zafer told the court, according to BBC Sport: "My stomach turned inside out because I knew how they must've been the Ambien and how strong they were, and I felt immense guilt.

"It was all my fault that this happened."

When asked by his barrister about the allegations, Olesen said, according to Sky Sports: "I felt absolutely horrible and I was very sorry. I could not believe what they were saying happened.

"I was just embarrassed and felt horrible."

Olesen was suspended by the European Tour in August 2019 pending an investigation into his arrest and charges. The suspension was lifted in July 2020 because of delays in court proceedings in the UK caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

He had initially been scheduled to stand trial in May 2020, but that date was postponed because of the pandemic.

The Dane has won five events on the European Tour and played in Europe's Ryder Cup-winning team in 2018. Olesen is currently ranked 432nd in the world.