| Thomas Bjørn | |
| Fullname: | Thomas Bjørn |
| Nickname: | The Great Dane[1] |
| Birth Date: | 18 February 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Silkeborg, Denmark |
| Weight: | 88kg (194lb) |
| Residence: | Silkeborg, Denmark Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Children: | 4 |
| Yearpro: | 1993 |
| Tour: | European Tour PGA Tour Champions European Senior Tour |
| Prowins: | 23 |
| Eurowins: | 15 |
| Japwins: | 2 |
| Asiawins: | 2 |
| Sunwins: | 1 |
| Chalwins: | 3 |
| Seneurowins: | 2 |
| Otherwins: | 1 |
| Masters: | T8: 2014 |
| Usopen: | T22: 2001 |
| Open: | T2: 2000, 2003 |
| Pga: | T2: 2005 |
| Award1: | Challenge Tour Rankings winner |
| Year1: | 1995 |
| Award2: | Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |
| Year2: | 1996 |
Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a Danish professional golfer 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. He captained the winning European side at the 2018 Ryder Cup.
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. In April 1998, after a five-week break from competitive golf, Bjørn won for the second time that year at the Peugeot Open de España 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 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. In December 2013, Bjørn won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.[4] It was Bjørn's 14th career European Tour win.
Bjørn was a member of the winning European Ryder Cup teams in 1997, 2002 and 2014. He also captained the 2018 European Ryder Cup team, winning over United States with 17½ points to 10½ at Le Golf National, Paris, France.
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.[5] [6]
In 2005 and 2006, Bjørn sponsored the Thomas Bjørn Open, an event on the Challenge Tour played in his home country.[7] In 2007, Bjørn was elected chairman of the European Tour's tournament committee. In May 2022, Bjørn was named vice-captain by Team Europe's captain Henrik Stenson for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.[8]
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.
Bjørn has three children, Filippa and twins Oliver and Julia with his former wife Pernilla. Bjørn currently resides in London.[9] Perth-born air stewardess Dagmara Leniartek had a five-year affair with Bjørn. Bjørn initially cut relations with Leniartek and denied he was the father of her daughter. However, Danish media reported a DNA test had subsequently proved Bjørn was the father of the child – a girl named Isabella.[10] [11] [12]
Bjørn is a football fan and a keen follower of Liverpool F.C. Alongside football he also states his other interest to be movies.[13]
| 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 |  Jean van de Velde | |
| 2 | 1 Feb 1998 | Heineken Classic | −8 (70-68-68-74=280) | 1 stroke | Ian Woosnam | |
| 3 | 26 Apr 1998 | −21 (68-67-66-66=267) | 1 stroke |  Greg Chalmers,  José María Olazábal | ||
| 4 | 17 Oct 1999 | Sarazen World Open | −15 (66-69-70-68=273) | 2 strokes | ||
| 5 | 3 Sep 2000 | BMW International Open | −20 (69-63-69-67=268) | 3 strokes |  Bernhard Langer | |
| 6 | 4 Mar 2001 | Dubai Desert Classic | −22 (64-66-67-69=266) | 2 strokes | Pádraig Harrington,  Tiger Woods | |
| 7 | 1 Sep 2002 | BMW International Open (2) | −24 (68-64-66-66=264) | 4 strokes | John Bickerton, Bernhard Langer | |
| 8 | 15 May 2005 | Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters | −6 (73-68-73-68=282) | Playoff | Brian Davis, David Howell | |
| 9 | 21 May 2006 | Nissan Irish Open | −5 (78-66-67-72=283) | 1 stroke | Paul Casey | |
| 10 | 13 Jun 2010 | Estoril Open de Portugal | −23 (67-65-65-68=265) | 5 strokes | Richard Green | |
| 11 | 6 Feb 2011 | Commercialbank Qatar Masters | −14 (74-65-66-69=274) | 4 strokes | Álvaro Quirós | |
| 12 | 28 Aug 2011 | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | −11 (68-69-71-69=277) | Playoff | ||
| 13 | 4 Sep 2011 | Omega European Masters1 | −20 (68-68-66-62=264) | 4 strokes | Martin Kaymer | |
| 14 | 8 Sep 2013 | Omega European Masters1 (2) | −20 (66-66-67-65=264) | Playoff | Craig Lee | |
| 15 | 8 Dec 2013 (2014 season) | Nedbank Golf Challenge2 | −20 (67-70-66-65=268) | 2 strokes | Jamie Donaldson, Sergio García |
European Tour playoff record (3–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2003 | Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe |  Pádraig Harrington | Lost to par on first extra hole | |
| 2 | 2003 | Nissan Irish Open |  Michael Campbell,  Peter Hedblom | Campbell won with birdie on first extra hole | |
| 3 | 2005 | Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters | Brian Davis, David Howell | Won with par on second extra hole Davis eliminated by par on first hole | |
| 4 | 2011 | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles |  George Coetzee, Mark Foster, Pablo Larrazábal,  Bernd Wiesberger | Won with birdie on fifth extra hole Foster eliminated by par on fourth hole Larrazábal eliminated by par on second hole Wiesberger eliminated by par on first hole | |
| 5 | 2013 | Omega European Masters | Craig Lee | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Nov 1999 | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | −14 (69-66-68-67=270) | Playoff | Sergio García | |
| 2 | 23 Nov 2003 | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament (2) | −12 (67-65-69-71=272) | 2 strokes |  Daisuke Maruyama |
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 Jun 1995 | Himmerland Open | E (70-70-76=216) | Playoff |  Anssi Kankkonen,  Nicolas Vanhootegem | |
| 2 | 23 Jul 1995 | Interlaken Open | −16 (64-71-65=200) | 3 strokes | André Bossert | |
| 3 | 28 Aug 1995 | Coca-Cola Open | −8 (70-70-69-71=280) | 1 stroke | Freddie Jacobson |
Other playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995 | Esbjerg Danish Closed | Ben Tinning | ||
| 2 | 2001 | WGC-World Cup (with Søren Hansen) | − Michael Campbell and David Smail, − Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, − David Duval and Tiger Woods | South Africa won with par on second extra hole New Zealand and United States eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Tour Championships (1) | |
| Other European Senior Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 Aug 2021 | Irish Legends | −15 (67-66-65=198) | Playoff | Phillip Price | |
| 2 | 11 Dec 2022 | MCB Tour Championship (Mauritius) | −20 (68-61-67=196) | 7 strokes | Simon P. Brown, James Kingston |
European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0)
| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | ||||
| U.S. Open | T68 | T25 | CUT | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | T9 | T30 | |
| PGA Championship | T45 | CUT | T70 |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T28 | CUT | T18 | CUT | T25 | T32 | CUT | ||||
| U.S. Open | T46 | T22 | T37 | CUT | CUT | T52 | T48 | CUT | |||
| The Open Championship | T2 | CUT | T8 | T2 | CUT | CUT | T41 | T53 | |||
| PGA Championship | 3 | T63 | CUT | CUT | T2 | CUT | T62 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T37 | T46 | T8 | CUT | |||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | 4 | T54 | T73 | T26 | CUT | |||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T48 | CUT | CUT | T48 | CUT |
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 7 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 7 | ||
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 11 | ||
| PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 8 | |
| Totals | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 58 | 33 |
Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | T59 | T40 | NT1 | T27 | T28 | 2 | WD | T41 | T11 | T28 | T24 | T44 | WD | ||||
| Match Play | R32 | R16 | R64 | R32 | R64 | R64 | R32 | R64 | R64 | R32 | |||||||
| Invitational | T10 | T31 | T15 | T61 | 18 | T18 | T68 | T40 | T15 | 69 | |||||||
| Champions | T42 | T21 | T39 | T41 |
Amateur
Professional
| 1.5 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 0.5 | 4 |