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.
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. 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." 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 came 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 the Omega European Masters in September 2011. In December 2013, Bjørn won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa. 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 the 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.69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
In 2005 and 2006, Bjørn sponsored the Thomas Bjørn Open, an event on the Challenge Tour played in his home country. 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.
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 has three children, Filippa and twins Oliver and Julia with his former wife Pernilla. Bjørn currently resides in London. 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.
Bjørn is a football fan and a keen follower of Liverpool F.C. Alongside football he also states his other interest to be movies.
Professional wins (25) European Tour wins (15) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up122 Sep 1996Loch Lomond World Invitational−11 (70-68-69-70=277)1 stroke Jean van de Velde21 Feb 1998Heineken Classic−8 (70-68-68-74=280)1 stroke Ian Woosnam326 Apr 1998Peugeot Open de España −21 (68-67-66-66=267)1 stroke Greg Chalmers, José María Olazábal417 Oct 1999Sarazen World Open−15 (66-69-70-68=273)2 strokes Paolo Quirici, Katsuyoshi Tomori 53 Sep 2000BMW International Open−20 (69-63-69-67=268)3 strokes Bernhard Langer64 Mar 2001Dubai Desert Classic−22 (64-66-67-69=266)2 strokes Pádraig Harrington, Tiger Woods71 Sep 2002BMW International Open (2)−24 (68-64-66-66=264)4 strokes John Bickerton, Bernhard Langer815 May 2005Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters−6 (73-68-73-68=282)Playoff Brian Davis, David Howell921 May 2006Nissan Irish Open−5 (78-66-67-72=283)1 stroke Paul Casey1013 Jun 2010Estoril Open de Portugal−23 (67-65-65-68=265)5 strokes Richard Green116 Feb 2011Commercialbank Qatar Masters−14 (74-65-66-69=274)4 strokes Álvaro Quirós1228 Aug 2011Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles−11 (68-69-71-69=277)Playoff George Coetzee, Mark Foster, Pablo Larrazábal, Bernd Wiesberger 134 Sep 2011Omega European Masters1−20 (68-68-66-62=264)4 strokes Martin Kaymer148 Sep 2013Omega European Masters1 (2)−20 (66-66-67-65=264)Playoff Craig Lee158 Dec 2013(2014 season)Nedbank Golf Challenge2−20 (67-70-66-65=268)2 strokes Jamie Donaldson, Sergio García 1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour 2Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
European Tour playoff record (3–2) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result12003Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe Pádraig HarringtonLost to par on first extra hole22003Nissan Irish Open Michael Campbell, Peter HedblomCampbell won with birdie on first extra hole32005Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters Brian Davis, David HowellWon with par on second extra holeDavis eliminated by par on first hole42011Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles George Coetzee, Mark Foster, Pablo Larrazábal, Bernd WiesbergerWon with birdie on fifth extra holeFoster eliminated by par on fourth holeLarrazábal eliminated by par on second holeWiesberger eliminated by par on first hole52013Omega European Masters Craig LeeWon with birdie on first extra hole
Japan Golf Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up121 Nov 1999Dunlop Phoenix Tournament−14 (69-66-68-67=270)Playoff Sergio García223 Nov 2003Dunlop Phoenix Tournament (2)−12 (67-65-69-71=272)2 strokes Daisuke Maruyama
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11999Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Sergio GarcíaWon with birdie on fourth extra hole
Challenge Tour wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up111 Jun 1995Himmerland OpenE (70-70-76=216)Playoff Anssi Kankkonen, Nicolas Vanhootegem223 Jul 1995Interlaken Open−16 (64-71-65=200)3 strokes André Bossert328 Aug 1995Coca-Cola Open−8 (70-70-69-71=280)1 stroke Freddie Jacobson
Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11995Himmerland Open Anssi Kankkonen, Nicolas VanhootegemWon with birdie on first extra hole
Other wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up113 Aug 1995Esbjerg Danish Closed−4 (73-75-64=212)Playoff Ben Tinning
Other playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11995Esbjerg Danish Closed Ben TinningWon with birdie on first extra hole22001WGC-World Cup(with Søren Hansen) − Michael Campbell and David Smail, − Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, − David Duval and Tiger WoodsSouth Africa won with par on second extra holeNew Zealand and United States eliminated by birdie on first hole
PGA Tour Champions wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up18 Jun 2025American Family Insurance Championship(with Darren Clarke)−32 (59-58-64=181)4 strokes Doug Barron and Dicky Pride, Alex Čejka and Søren Kjeldsen, Steve Flesch and Paul Goydos, Steve Stricker and Mario Tiziani27 Sep 2025Stifel Charity Classic−12 (65-69-67=201)Playoff Cameron Percy
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12025Stifel Charity Classic Cameron PercyWon with birdie on first extra hole
European Senior Tour wins (2) Legend Tour Championships (1) Other European Senior Tour (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up122 Aug 2021Irish Legends−15 (67-66-65=198)Playoff Phillip Price211 Dec 2022MCB Tour Championship (Mauritius)−20 (68-61-67=196)7 strokes Simon P. Brown, James Kingston
European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12021Irish Legends Phillip PriceWon with birdie on second extra hole
Results in major championships
Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999 Masters TournamentCUTU.S. OpenT68T25CUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTCUTT9T30PGA ChampionshipT45CUTT70 Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Masters TournamentT28CUTT18CUTT25T32CUTU.S. OpenT46T22T37CUTCUTT52T48CUTThe Open ChampionshipT2CUTT8T2CUTCUTT41T53PGA Championship3T63CUTCUTT2CUTT62 Tournament20102011201220132014201520162017Masters TournamentT37T46T8CUTU.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUT4T54T73T26CUTPGA ChampionshipCUTT48CUTCUTT48CUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 3 12 7U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 7The Open Championship 0 2 0 3 5 5 18 11PGA Championship 0 1 1 2 2 2 16 8Totals 0 3 1 5 8 12 58 33 Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (1999 Open Championship – 2000 PGA) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2000 Open Championship – 2000 PGA)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014The Players ChampionshipT22CUTT22T22WD69CUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships Results not in chronological order prior to 2015. Tournament19992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015ChampionshipT59T40NT1T27T282WDT41T11T28T24T44WDMatch PlayR32R16R64R32R64R64R32R64R64R32InvitationalT10T31T15T6118T18T68T40T1569ChampionsT42T21T39T41 1Cancelled due to 9/11
WD = Withdrew QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Team appearances Amateur Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing the Continent of Europe): 1988 European Youths' Team Championship (representing Denmark): 1990 St Andrews Trophy (representing the Continent of Europe): 1990 European Amateur Team Championship (representing Denmark): 1991 Eisenhower Trophy (representing Denmark): 1992
Professional World Cup (representing Denmark): 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2013 Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1997 (winners), 2002 (winners), 2014 (winners), 2018 (non-playing captain) (winners)
+Ryder Cup points record1997199920022004200620082010 2012 2014 Total 1.5-2-----0.5 4
Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2000 (winners), 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 (non-playing captain), 2011, 2013 (winners) Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2006 (winners) EurAsia Cup (representing Europe): 2014, 2018 (non-playing captain, winners)
See also List of golfers with most European Tour wins
References
External links