Thomas Bjørn

Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a Danish golfer who plays on the European Tour.

Bjørn 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 U.S. 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. [ [http://dps.twiihosting.net/wgr/doc/content/2007%20Stats/86TO0810.pdf 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking] ] [ [http://dps.twiihosting.net/wgr/doc/content/archive/2001/owgr28f.pdf Official World Golf Ranking] - 15 Jul 2001]

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.

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

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. [cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/5317530.stm | title = Bjørn issues apology to Woosnam | publisher = BBC News | date = 5 September 2006 ] .

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.

Professional wins (15)

European Tour wins (9)

*1996 Loch Lomond World Invitational
*1998 Peugeot Open de Espana, Heineken Classic
*1999 Sarazen World Open
*2000 BMW International Open
*2001 Dubai Desert Classic
*2002 BMW International Open
*2005 Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters
*2006 Irish Open

Challenge Tour wins (4)

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

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

*1999 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament
*2003 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament

Results in major championships

¹Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
DNS = Did not start
WD = Withdrew
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

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)

References

External links

* [http://www.europeantour.com/publish.sps?pageid=127&pagegid=%7B20E6AA6B%2D0225%2D4C71%2DBD89%2D2ACBEE615D69%7D&playerId=6207 Profile on the European Tour's official site]
* [http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/players/bio.sps?ID=5725 Results in ranking events over the last two years from the Official World Golf Ranking site]

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=