Thomas Bjørn

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Thomas Bjørn
Personal Information
Birth February 18, 1971 (1971-02-18) (age 37)
Silkeborg, Denmark
Height 6 ft 2.5 in (1.89 m)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg)
Nationality Flag of Denmark Denmark
Residence Silkeborg, Denmark,
Wentworth, England
College None
Career
Turned Pro 1993
Current tour European Tour (joined 1996)
Professional wins 15 (European Tour: 9, Other: 6)
Best Results in Major Championships
Masters T18: 2002
U.S. Open T22: 2001
British Open T2: 2000, 2003
PGA Championship T2: 2005
Awards
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		 1996

Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a Danish golfer who plays on the European Tour. He played on the Challenge Tour from 1993 to 1995. He then made an immediate impact on the European Tour in his first season, finishing tenth on the 1996 Order of Merit. He has won nine tournaments on the European Tour and has finished in the top ten on the Order of Merit five 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 and at the US PGA Championship in 2005, when he 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 and 2002. He made the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for one week in 2001 after a second place finish at The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.[1][2]

Thomas 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. The name means bear in Danish.

In 2007 he was elected chairman of the European Tour's tournament committee.

Contents

[edit] 2006 Ryder Cup controversy

In September 2006 Bjørn was left out of the Ryder Cup team to face the United States later that month by captain Ian Woosnam, prompting him to describe his relationship with Woosnam as "completely dead".

The following day Bjørn apologized to Woosnam who accepted it. He was fined a 'substantial sum' believed to be in the region of €10,000 by the European Tour.[3].

The European team won against the US team 18.5 to 9.5, one of the largest victories in the history of the Ryder Cup, with Lee Westwood, who was chosen over Bjørn, scoring 4 points.

[edit] Professional wins (16)

[edit] European Tour wins (9)

[edit] Challenge Tour wins (4)

  • 1995 Coca-Cola Open, C*Esbjerg Danish Closed, Interlaken Open, Himmerland Open

[edit] Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters 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
The Masters T28 CUT T18 DNP CUT T25 T32 CUT DNP
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 DNP T2 CUT T62

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

[edit] Professional teams

  • Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1997 (winners), 2002 (winners)
  • World Cup (representing Denmark): 1996, 1997, 2001
  • Seve Trophy (representing continental Europe): 2000 (winners), 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007
  • Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2006 (winners)

[edit] References

  1. ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
  2. ^ Official World Golf Ranking - 15 Jul 2001
  3. ^ "Bjørn issues apology to Woosnam", BBC News, 5 September 2006. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
Sir Henry Cotton Rookies of the Year
1960 Tommy Goodwin • 1961 Alex Caygill • 1962 No Award • 1963 Tony Jacklin • 1964 No Award • 1965 No Award • 1966 Robin Liddle • 1967 No Award • 1968 Bernard Gallacher • 1969 Peter Oosterhuis • 1970 Stuart Brown • 1971 David Llewellyn • 1972 Sam Torrance • 1973 Pip Elson • 1974 Carl Mason • 1975 No Award • 1976 Mark James • 1977 Nick Faldo • 1978 Sandy Lyle • 1979 Mike Miller • 1980 Paul Hoad • 1981 Jeremy Bennett • 1982 Gordon Brand, Jnr • 1983 Grant Turner • 1984 Philip Parkin • 1985 Paul Thomas • 1986 José María Olazábal • 1987 Peter Baker • 1988 Colin Montgomerie • 1989 Paul Broadhurst • 1990 Russell Claydon • 1991 Per-Ulrik Johansson • 1992 Jim Payne • 1993 Gary Orr • 1994 Jonathan Lomas • 1995 Jarmo Sandelin • 1996 Thomas Bjørn • 1997 Scott Henderson • 1998 Olivier Edmond • 1999 Sergio García • 2000 Ian Poulter • 2001 Paul Casey • 2002 Nick Dougherty • 2003 Peter Lawrie • 2004 Scott Drummond • 2005 Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño • 2006 Marc Warren • 2007 Martin Kaymer


Persondata
NAME Bjørn, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bjorn, Thomas; Björn, Thomas
SHORT DESCRIPTION Danish golfer
DATE OF BIRTH 18 February 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH Silkeborg, Denmark
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH