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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. 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." 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.〔(69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking )〕〔(Official World Golf Ranking ) - 15 Jul7 2001〕 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. 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. 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thomas Bjørn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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