Thomas Bjørn

Thomas Bjørn
— Golfer —

Bjørn with the Omega European Masters trophy in 2011
Personal information
Full name Thomas Bjørn
Nickname The Great Dane[1]
Born (1971-02-18) 18 February 1971
Silkeborg, Denmark
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 88 kg (194 lb; 13.9 st)
Nationality  Denmark
Residence Silkeborg, Denmark
Gothenburg, Sweden
Spouse Pernilla (m. 1998)
Children Filippa,
Oliver and Julie (twins)
Career
Turned professional 1993
Current tour(s) European Tour (joined 1996)
Professional wins 21
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 15
Japan Golf Tour 2
Sunshine Tour 1
Challenge Tour 4
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T8: 2014
U.S. Open T22: 2001
The Open Championship T2: 2000, 2003
PGA Championship T2: 2005
Achievements and awards
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		 1996
Challenge Tour
Rankings winner		 1995

Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a professional golfer from Denmark who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won fifteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1997 he also became the first Dane to qualify for a European Ryder Cup team. Bjørn is remembered for his collapse at Royal St. George's during the 2003 Open Championship, when he led by two strokes with three holes to play, but took three attempts to get out of a greenside bunker on the par three 16th, handing the tournament to Ben Curtis.

Professional career

Bjørn started his career playing on the Challenge Tour from 1993 to 1995. In 1995 he won four tournaments on the Challenge Tour to earn his card for his debut year on the European Tour in 1996. Bjørn made his breakthrough immediately winning his maiden tour title in his debut season at the Loch Lomond World Invitational. He became the first golfer from Denmark to win a tournament on the European Tour.[2] He finished the 1996 season placed tenth on the Order of Merit. The follow up season in 1997 was steady with a number of top ten finishes without a win, however Bjørn did not have long to wait until his next win arrived. He won early in the 1998 season in Perth, Australia taking the Heineken Classic for his second European Tour title. Despite an over par final round of 74, Bjørn won by a single stroke from Ian Woosnam. A couple months later after a five-week break from competitive golf, Bjørn won for the second time in 1998 at the Peugeot Open de Espana after a final round 66 took him to 21 under and one stroke ahead of the chasing pack. He later said “I didn’t really expect this after taking five weeks off, but when your confidence has gone like mine did after winning in Perth, it just shows it’s best to take a break and regroup."[3] After his two wins he finished the year 6th on the Order of Merit.

After a winless period due to injuries and the birth of his first child, Bjørn returned to the winner's circle in October 1999 at the Sarazen World Open. This was his fourth career European Tour win and after an unspectacular year, he jumped up the standings to finish the season 14th on the Order of Merit.

He has finished in the top ten on the Order of Merit eight times with a best finish of fifth in 2000. He has come close to winning a major championship at the 2003 Open Championship when he was in the lead with 4 holes to play before a slump handed victory to Ben Curtis. At the 2005 PGA Championship, he was tied for the lead before finishing as runner-up to Phil Mickelson in a second-place tie with Steve Elkington.

Bjørn was a member of the winning European Ryder Cup teams in 1997, 2002 and 2014. He made the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for one week in 2001 after a second-place finish at The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.[4][5]

Bjørn picked up his first European Tour win in four years and 10th of his career in 2010 at the Estoril Open de Portugal, winning with a score of 23-under-par, five better than Richard Green. He followed this with three more wins at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters in February 2011, Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in August 2011, winning in a five-man playoff on the fifth extra hole, birdieing the final three holes and Omega European Masters in September 2011. It was Bjørn's 13th career European Tour win.

In 2005 and 2006, Bjørn sponsored the Thomas Bjørn Open, an event on the Challenge Tour played in his home country.[6] In 2007, Bjørn was elected chairman of the European Tour's tournament committee.

In December 2013, Bjørn won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.[7]

Bjørn's last name is sometimes written Björn or Bjorn outside Denmark. The Danish (and Norwegian) letter 'ø' represents approximately the same sound as 'ö' in German and Swedish. Literally translated, his surname means bear in Danish.

Personal life

Bjørn married his wife Pernilla in 1998. They have three children Filippa and twins Oliver and Julia. Bjørn currently resides in Gothenburg, Sweden.[8]

Bjørn is a football fan and a keen follower of Liverpool F.C.. Alongside football he also states his other interest to be movies.[9]

Professional wins (21)

European Tour wins (15)

Thomas Bjørn
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 22 Sep 1996 Loch Lomond World Invitational −11 (70-68-69-70=277) 1 stroke France Jean van de Velde
2 1 Feb 1998 Heineken Classic −8 (70-68-68-74=280) 1 stroke Wales Ian Woosnam
3 26 Apr 1998 Peugeot Open de Espana −21 (68-67-66-66=267) 1 stroke Australia Greg Chalmers, Spain José María Olazábal
4 17 Oct 1999 Sarazen World Open −15 (66-69-70-68=273) 2 strokes Switzerland Paolo Quirici, Japan Katsuyoshi Tomori
5 22 Aug 2000 BMW International Open −20 (69-93-69-67=268) 3 strokes Germany Bernhard Langer
6 4 Mar 2001 Dubai Desert Classic −22 (64-66-67-69=266) 2 strokes Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington, United States Tiger Woods
7 1 Sep 2002 BMW International Open (2) −24 (68-64-66-66=264) 4 strokes England John Bickerton, Germany Bernhard Langer
8 15 May 2005 Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters −6 (73-68-73-68=282) Playoff England Brian Davis, England David Howell
9 21 May 2006 Irish Open −5 (78-66-67-72=283) 1 stroke England Paul Casey
10 14 Jun 2010 Estoril Open de Portugal −23 (67-65-65-68=265) 5 strokes Australia Richard Green
11 6 Feb 2011 Commercialbank Qatar Masters −13 (74-65-66-69=274) 4 strokes Spain Álvaro Quirós
12 28 Aug 2011 Johnnie Walker Championship
at Gleneagles		 −11 (68-69-71-69=277) Playoff South Africa George Coetzee, England Mark Foster,
Spain Pablo Larrazábal, Austria Bernd Wiesberger
13 4 Sep 2011 Omega European Masters −20 (68-68-66-62=264) 4 strokes Germany Martin Kaymer
14 8 Sep 2013 Omega European Masters (2) −20 (66-66-67-65=264) Playoff Scotland Craig Lee
15 8 Dec 2013 Nedbank Golf Challenge1 −20 (67-70-66-65=268) 2 strokes Wales Jamie Donaldson, Spain Sergio García

1 Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour

European Tour playoff record (3–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2003 Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington Lost to par on first extra hole
2 2003 Nissan Irish Open New Zealand Michael Campbell, Sweden Peter Hedblom Campbell won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2005 Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters England Brian Davis, England David Howell Won with par on second extra hole
Davis eliminated with par on first hole
4 2011 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles South Africa George Coetzee, England Mark Foster,
Spain Pablo Larrazábal, Austria Bernd Wiesberger		 Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Foster eliminated with par on fourth hole
Larrázabal eliminated with par on second hole
Wiesberger eliminated with par on first hole
5 2013 Omega European Masters Scotland Craig Lee Won with birdie on first extra hole

Sunshine Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 8 Dec 2013 Nedbank Golf Challenge1 −20 (67-70-66-65=268) 2 strokes Wales Jamie Donaldson, Spain Sergio García

1 Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Challenge Tour wins (4)

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP CUT
U.S. Open DNP T68 T25 CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT T9 T30
PGA Championship DNP T45 CUT T70
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T28 CUT T18 DNP CUT T25 T32 CUT DNP DNP
U.S. Open T46 T22 T37 CUT CUT T52 T48 CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship T2 CUT T8 T2 CUT CUT T41 T53 DNP DNP
PGA Championship 3 T63 CUT CUT DNP T2 CUT T62 DNP DNP
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Masters Tournament DNP DNP T37 T46 T8 CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT 4 T54 T73 T26 CUT
PGA Championship DNP CUT T48 CUT CUT T48

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 3 12 7
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 7
The Open Championship 0 2 0 3 5 5 18 11
PGA Championship 0 1 1 2 2 2 15 8
Totals 0 3 1 5 8 12 57 33

Results in World Golf Championship events

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament1999200020012002200320042005200620072008
Cadillac Match Play Championship R32 R16 DNP DNP R64 R32 R64 DNP R64 DNP
Cadillac Championship T59 T40 NT1 T27 T28 2 WD T41 T11 DNP
Bridgestone Invitational DNP T10 T31 T15 T61 DNP 18 T18 DNP DNP
Tournament2009201020112012201320142015
Cadillac Championship DNP DNP T28 T24 DNP T44 WD
Cadillac Match Play Championship DNP DNP R32 R64 R64 R32 DNP
Bridgestone Invitational DNP DNP T68 T40 DNP T15 69
HSBC Champions DNP DNP T42 T21 T39 T41 DNP

1Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Ryder Cup points record
1997199920022004200620082010 2012 2014 Total
1.5-2-----0.5 4

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Great Dane's Challenge Tour legacy". PGA European Tour. 16 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "First Danish winner on the European Tour". European Tour. 22 September 1996. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "Bjorn wins for the second time in two months". European Tour. 26 April 1998. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  4. ↑ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
  5. ↑ Official World Golf Ranking - 15 Jul7 2001
  6. ↑ "Bjorn to sponsor new Danish event". BBC Sport. 22 March 2005. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "Nedbank Challenge: Thomas Bjorn wins by two shots in Sun City". BBC Sport. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Bjorn player profile". European Tour. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "Bjorn a supporter of Liverpool F.C.". European Tour. Retrieved 7 September 2011.

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