20 Professionals and 60 Amateurs competing alongside each other, as Bjørn’s team took top spot with 92 stableford points. Bjørn helped his team to victory after a superb round of four under par, consisting of 8 birdies.

David Laing, David Gowans, Candice Wang, and Anish Bhatia secured the runner-up spot, with a very respectable score of 86 points.

Leading the individual PGA Professional category, after a round of level par 71, which consisted of 15 pars, was Dubai Creek’s Director of Golf, Michael Major.  Tied in second place with three over 75s were Matt Rice, Louis Gaughan, and Jules Lompech. Rounds of four over 75s, was enough to guarantee tied sixth position for the following four professionals, Hassine Wallani, Purna Sharma, David Gray, and Stuart Smith.

On Course Competitions:
Nearest The Pin – Hole 5 – Nelly Shani
Straightest Drive – Hole 12 – Candice Wang

After the prize presentation, Trisha Kumar, Assistant Golf Services Manager, said: “Congratulations to all of our winners and of course to to Thomas Bjørn for shooting a very impressive score of four under par! Thank you as always to Lincoln for their continued support to Dubai Creek. We look forward to seeing you all back soon!”

Image: Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club

The post Thomas Bjørn’s team wins Dubai Creek Lincoln Dubai Golf Pro-Am appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The tournament, which will be held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, will mark the DP World Tour’s first visit to the Kingdom since 2011 and forms part of the International Swing on the 2024 Race to Dubai.

Former Ryder Cup Captain Bjørn, who is Denmark’s most successful golfer of all-time with 15 DP World Tour wins to his name, will return to the Kingdom for the first time in 13 years, since he finished in a tie for 44th at the Volvo Golf Champions.

“I am looking forward to returning to Bahrain in February and seeing how the country has changed since my last visit almost 13 years ago,” said Bjørn, who has twice enjoyed success here in the Middle East with victories in the 2001 Dubai Desert Classic and the 2011 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

“The beauty of the DP World Tour is we get to visit so many interesting places and help bring golf to new audiences, and I am thrilled to help to achieve that with the Bahrain Championship.

“I would like to thank His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for welcoming us to his Kingdom and I can’t wait to visit early next year.”

With just over 50 days to go until the eagerly-anticipated event, which has a prize fund of US$2.5 million, the Royal Golf Club course has undergone extensive upgrades, supported by Osool Asset Management and Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, headed by His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

Among the key enhancements is the upgrading of a number of greens on the front nine to ensure it is in prime condition to welcome the elite stars of the DP World Tour.

Freddie Schmeisser, Championship Director of the Bahrain Championship, said: “We are looking forward to returning to the Kingdom of Bahrain next year as part of the DP World Tour’s International Swing and excitement is now building and Thomas committing to play.

“Royal Golf Club is a fitting venue for the Bahrain Championship and will be a great day out for all the family, with world class golf and a host of off-course activities.”

The Bahrain Championship will be one of four events in the Middle East as part of the new International Swing on the revamped 2024 Race to Dubai.

The tournament follows the inaugural Dubai Invitational, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the first Rolex Series event of the season, and the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

There are five Global Swings in the first part of the season, with the International Swing running from January to March. Each Swing will have its own identity and its own Champion who will each earn $200,000 from an overall $1million Bonus Pool. Swing Champions will also qualify for each of the ‘Back 9’ events later in the season.

Image: Getty Images

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The 52-year-old has come a long way since winning his first DP World Tour title at the Loch Lomond World Invitational in 1996, becoming the first Danish winner on Tour on the way to being named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

600th DP World Tour start under way!

Congratulations @thomasbjorngolf ? #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/od341MCrUX

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 5, 2023

Widely regarded as one of the DP World Tour’s greatest players, Bjorn celebrated his 500th DP World Tour appearance on home soil at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort in 2017.

He has been a flag-bearer for Danish golf since he burst on to the scene on the European Challenge Tour with three wins in 1995 and has since experienced success on both the DP World Tour and the Legends Tour.

Bjorn has amassed 15 DP World Tour titles in a career where he has developed a special affinity for the Ryder Cup. He became the first Danish player to appear in golf’s greatest team contest in 1997, playing twice more in 2002 and 2014 and experiencing victory on all three occasions.

Arguably his greatest Ryder Cup moment came in 2018, when he captained Team Europe to a memorable victory in Paris, and the success continued last week as he contributed to another European win in Italy last week as one of Luke Donald’s vice-captains.

The winning ways continued after he turned 50, as he notched up two Legends Tour titles in successive years — at the Irish Legends in 2021 and the MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius in 2022.

He was also appointed Chairman of the DP World Tour’s Tournament Committee in 2007, but stepped aside in 2016 in order to focus on his duty as Ryder Cup captain.

Bjorn now joins an illustrious list of players to have reached the remarkable 600 appearance milestone.

Sam Torrance was the first man to achieve the feat in 1998, and has since been followed by Eamon Darcy (2001), Roger Chapman (2005), Barry Lane (2007), Malcolm Mackenzie (2008), Colin Montgomerie (2012), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2012), Peter Baker (2015), Paul Lawrie (2017), David Howell (2018), Robert Karlsson (2018), Raphael Jaquelin (2019), Soren Kjeldsen (2020) and Stephen Gallacher (2021).

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The 21-year-old will be joined by 2022 Ras Al Khaimah Classic champion Ryan Fox and twin brother Rasmus for the $2 million DP World Tour event on February 2-5.

RELATED: Ras Al Khaimah Championship returns to DP World Tour schedule
Danish delight as Højgaard claims Ras Al Khaimah title

The Dane battled to his second DP World Tour title at last season’s tournament, winning by four strokes from Jordan Smith as he carded a four-under final round.

As Højgaard wobbled during the last day at Al Hamra, Smith moved two strokes ahead with six to play. But the youngster kept his cool and finished with three birdies and an eagle to seal the famous victory.

The tournament will be the last of the ‘UAE Swing’ series of events at the start of the year. It follows on from the Hero Cup — a new team match play event — and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Dubai Desert Classic, the first two Rolex Series events of the 2023 season.

“It’s always nice having the opportunity to defend a title and I’m really looking forward to returning to Al Hamra next year,” said Højgaard. “It was a great final-day battle with Jordan, so to fight back the way I did on the back nine and win by four shots was really satisfying.

“It’s a great venue and the course really suits my eye, so hopefully I can feed off some good memories and have another strong week. It’ll be a great finish to the run of events we have in the UAE at the start of the year.”

Three-time DP World Tour winner Rasmus, Nicolai’s identical twin brother, will be lining up once again alongside compatriot Thomas Bjørn, who famously captained Europe to Ryder Cup victory at Le Golf National in 2018.

New Zealand’s Fox, who won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic as part of a double-header at the venue earlier this year, will be looking for a similar bright start to the season as he went on to have a stellar campaign in 2022 following his triumph in RAK. He finished second to Rory McIlroy on the DP World Tour Rankings.

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At first, the chitter-chatter centred on the rights and wrongs of this unfortunate affair. Predictably, Stenson’s decision to move to LIV Gof is receiving widespread condemnation and has provoked a mixture of anger and sadness amongst DP World Tour players and staff.

Still, things move on. And gossip is no exception. Now that Stenson has been shown the exit, speculation is rife over just who will lead the European side in Italy in September 2023 and how the decision will be reached.

“We don’t have as many options as we had a few months ago,” says Jose Maria Olazabal, who skippered Europe to famous victory at Medinah in 2012. “So many of the potential candidates are already on the LIV Tour. I think we are down to three possibilities: Paul Lawrie, Luke Donald and Thomas Bjorn.”

A seven-time Ryder Cup player, Olazabal contends that Donald of the three is more suited to a match in the US. “He makes his home and his life there,” Olazabal says. “Travelling to the site would be easy for him.” That leaves, in his mind, Lawrie and Bjorn for Rome in 14 months. “Both would be good. Thomas has experience. He did a great job in 2018. But Paul has played enough times to know what the job entails. I would not be unhappy if he got the job.”

As to just how the final decision should be arrived at, Ian Woosnam, European captain at the K Club in 2006, keeps things characteristically simple. The wee Welshman thinks as quickly as he plays.

“For me, they should just go through the process again,” he says. “I don’t think they should do anything different. That would be the fairest way. It’s not as if it’s going to take long. One meeting would be enough.”

Anyway, let’s take a close look at the most prominent names in the frame, with one addition to Olazabal’s list of contenders.

Luke Donald

By all accounts, the former World No. 1 was more than a little miffed that he did not get the job first time round. And, to an extent, Donald had a point. Even in March this year Stenson’s appointment was seen as a little “iffy”, his name having cropped up often enough whenever LIV Golf was mentioned.

By that measure alone, Donald must be seen as a favourite. The 44-year-old Englishman has played in four (winning) Ryder Cups with some distinction, his 10-4-1 record an obvious reason for pride. And he has twice served as an assistant, to Bjorn in 2018 at Le Golf National and again under Padraig Harrington in 2021 at Whistling Straits. Perhaps the only slight knock on his candidacy is that he has hardly been an avid supporter of his home circuit. Over the course of his 21-year professional career, Donald has played in only a relatively paltry 183 European/DP World Tour events.

Paul Lawrie

Lawrie has never hidden his interest in being European captain. More than once the 53-year-old has stuck his hand in the air. But each time he has done so he has gone away disappointed, which is odd. A major champion and respected by all for both the undoubted quality of his game and his work away from the tour (his eponymous junior foundation in the north-east of Scotland has introduced golf to thousands of youngsters), Lawrie, a veteran of 621 European/DP World tour events, ticks many Ryder Cup boxes.

“I’d like to see Paul get the job,” says Peter Baker, a Ryder Cup player in 1993 and an assistant to Woosnam 16 years ago. “He absolutely deserves it. He’d be a really good captain. And, apart from anything else, he has done so much for the game.”

Lawrie has another supporter in former US Senior Open and PGA champion, Roger Chapman.

“I really think Paul is worth a shot,” says the Englishman. “I’m not sure he’ll get it though. Thomas will be promoting himself. No question. But I would go for Paul. He would be a bloody good captain.”

Twice a player in European colours (13 years apart in 1999 and 2012), Lawrie compiled a commendable record of 4-3-1 despite never playing in a home match. An assistant to Darren Clarke in the 2016 matches at Hazeltine National, the former Open champion has been strangely (and perhaps significantly) overlooked since, something that clearly rankles.

Speaking to The Scotsman newspaper, Lawrie was quick to point out that the upcoming selection process should follow the same path as the original. In other words, only he, Karlsson and Donald should be interviewed. And the final decision should be made by the same five-strong panel that includes the three most recent past-captains — Harrington, Bjorn and Clarke — DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley and David Howell, chairman of the tour’s tournament committee.

“If that’s not the case then it’s a joke, to be honest,” said Lawrie. “It has to be the same way as it was before. You’re still trying to appoint the captain for a role, you’re not looking for something different.”

Whether going public with that outspoken view proves to be the right thing to do remains to be seen.

Thomas Bjorn

The 51-year-old is seen by many as a safe pair of hands in this unprecedented situation, Bjorn’s captaincy of the winning 2018 European side in France was widely applauded. Unlike his American counterpart, Jim Furyk, the Dane arrived at Le Golf National armed with a team well suited to the straight-hitting demands of the course. Bjorn had clearly done his homework and planned meticulously.

Still, as Lawrie pointed out this week, it would be odd indeed if a man involved in the selection process were to be appointed to a role that is not only prestigious, but highly lucrative. So if Bjorn is to be a candidate, he would surely recuse himself from the aforementioned five-strong committee.

Regardless, Bjorn just might get the job if past (and winning) experience is, as Olazabal pointed out, seen as a vital part of the transition from controversy to calm.

There’s another side to this though. More than one player asked for anonymity when espousing the cynical view that Bjorn (a past chairman of the tour’s tournament committee and now a member of the board of directors) will ultimately benefit most from his establishment credentials.

“It’s a done deal,” says one, summing up the prevailing sentiment. “Thomas will be looked after.”

Robert Karlsson

The lanky Swede is a long-shot this time round for a couple of reasons. First, rightly or wrongly, his nationality will be seen by many as hardly an asset in the current climate. And second, Karlsson, 52, is playing most of his golf on the PGA Tour Champions these days, not exactly the best way to stay on top of all things DP World Tour.

Still, by all accounts he was a stand-out assistant at the last two Ryder Cups. Look for him to possibly make it a hat-trick of back-up roles in Italy, particularly if Bjorn gets the top job.

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The post After Henrik Stenson’s shift to LIV Golf, Team Europe need a new Ryder Cup captain. Here are the four leading candidates appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On Friday after finishing up his second round at the Genesis Scottish Open, Thomas Bjorn a 15-time DP World Tour winner and former European Ryder Cup captain, was disqualified from the tournament for signing an incorrect scorecard.

MORE: The Scottish Open third-round tee times

According to PGATour.com, the 51-year-old Dane shot an eight-over 78 during his second trip around the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, after posting a five-over 75 on Thursday. On the DP World Tour website, Bjorn was listed as having shot a 77. DP World Tour officials said that Bjorn signed for a 4 on the par-4 11th hole when he had shot 5. By mistakenly signing a card with a lower score on a hole than he had shot, Bjorn broke Rule 3.3b, which comes with a penalty of disqualification.

The frustration of the DQ not withstanding, it made little difference to Bjorn’s plans for the weekend. At 13-over, the member of the DP World Tour board was well back of the three-over cut line by the time he had finished his round.\

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The post Scorecard rules issue sees former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn disqualified at Scottish Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
Henrik Stenson will lead Europe into the 2023 Ryder Cup matches at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy. Chosen by a five-man panel comprising of the last three European captains—Padraig Harrington, Thomas Bjørn and Darren Clarke—as well as DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley and tournament committee chairman David Howell, the 45-year-old Swede emerged as the successful candidate from a four-strong interview process. Former European number-one Robert Karlsson, former world number-one Luke Donald and 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie were the others in contention.

Stenson, one of nine Swedes to play Ryder Cup golf, becomes only the fifth continental skipper since 1979, when the Great Britain & Ireland squad was expanded to include those from Europe as a whole. In that respect, the 2016 Open champion follows Seve Ballesteros (1997), Bernhard Langer (2004), José María Olazábal (2012) and Thomas Bjorn (2018).

Apart from his age, Stenson—who has recorded top-five finishes in all four components of golf’s Grand Slam—ticks many of the boxes traditionally required of European skippers. Sweden’s first and so far only male major champion after his epic Open victory over Phil Mickelson at Royal Troon, the Gothenburg-native is a past winner of the Players Championship, twice European number-one after topping the Race to Dubai and in 2013, he claimed the FedEx Cup. In 2016 Stenson was silver medallist behind Justin Rose at the Rio Olympic Games, eight years after he teamed with Karlsson to win the World Cup of Golf for Sweden.

“Henrik has all the qualities to be a great captain,” confirmed European Ryder Cup director Guy Kinnings, who was the first to inform Stenson of the panel’s decision last Friday at the Players Championship. “He comes with all the credibility of what he has achieved, and as we all know a dry a sense of humour and a fantastic warm personality, but he is also a ferocious competitor. He is hugely respected by the players and admired by everyone involved with the game and the Ryder Cup.”

In five Ryder Cup appearances as a player starting in 2006—when he holed the winning putt at the K Club—Stenson was three times on the winning side, accumulating 11 points from 19 games. He also served as an assistant captain to Padraig Harrington at Whistling Straits last year. On that subject, although Karlsson and Donald are likely to be two of his assistants this time round, Stenson was giving nothing away. And he was equally tight-lipped when asked about any possible changes to a selection system that was roundly criticized last time out. But, in the wake of Europe’s record-breaking defeat at Whistling Straits, it would come as no surprise to hear that the number of wild-card selections will increase from the three that were available to Harrington.

“We’ve got time to decide these things,” he said. “It’s going to be an interesting 18 months. We have time obviously, and time will tell exactly how the team will formalize. But we have the old guard, the players who played a lot of Ryder Cups. Then we have the new talent on the DP World Tour, up-and-coming players who have shown some great signs. I’m sure they are hungry as ever to get one of the spots on this team. Some of them, I don’t know that much, but I will have the opportunity to get to know them and play with them and see where they kind of fit in all of this. These are exciting times. The door is open for anyone with a European passport.”

Still, for all that he is more than well-qualified to fill the role of Old World skipper—and clearly has the respect of all on the DP World Tour—Stenson’s rumoured dalliance with the still-to-be-seen but much-rumoured Saudi Super League had cast doubts over his suitability. As recently as last month in the Middle East, he was at best non-committal when asked about his future plans. Now, however, it can safely be assumed that his name is on the list of those who will not be making the jump to anything Saudi-related, even if it was a direct question he was quick to answer only obliquely.

“There’s been a lot of speculations back and forth, and as I said, I am fully committed to the captaincy and to Ryder Cup Europe and the job at hand,” he said. “So we’re going to keep busy with that and I’m going to do everything in my power to deliver a winning team in Rome.”

On his style of captaincy and the prospective make-up of his team, Stenson was a little more forthcoming. He was certainly well aware of the fact that the home team is likely to look a lot different from the ageing side that failed so abysmally at Whistling Straits.

“I want to be a players’ captain,” he said. “I want to work closely with the players. As you know, for decades, we’ve had a great bond within the European team room. I want to build on that and make sure we keep that. Looking at our average age at Whistling Straits, I think it was near enough 35, while the American side was much younger. At some point, there will be a shift, and I can definitely see that happening this time around. If you look at the stats, the American side played a lot better golf than we did last time, or if we didn’t come up to standard. No matter how you look at the numbers, we got outplayed by a better team and there’s no shame in that. So it’s exciting for me as a captain to follow all the players and how they are going to want to qualify and how hard they will work to make it.”

Only 564 days to go folks. Stay tuned.

The post Henrik Stenson named 2023 European Ryder Cup captain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
HAVEN, Wis. — Thomas Bjorn set a menacing precedent for European Ryder Cup captains. But it’s a precedent Padraig Harrington will oblige.

Bjorn, who managed the Euros in 2018, promised his club he would get a tattoo should it capture the cup. Following a resounding victory in Paris, Bjorn proved himself a man of his word.

He stuck to his promise!

Thomas Bjorn got a Ryder Cup tattoo “on a part that only Grace [his girlfriend] will see”. pic.twitter.com/VjqYVAGBdg

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 24, 2018

Which begged the question to Harrington on Wednesday at Whistling Straits: Will he follow in Bjorn’s footsteps?

“I am delighted that that’s all they ask for, but I’d have given up a lot more. So yes, I will be getting a tattoo,” Harrington said. “If my team produce a winning week, I will be getting a tattoo to mark the occasion, and very comfortable that they only asked that much of me because I would have given more.”

Harrington explained that the tat tradition has now become an “unwritten rule” between team and coach, but that his team has brought the subject up. Or maybe they didn’t ask and he offered. Admittedly, Harrington wasn’t sure, only sure that he will put ink to skin should the Europeans defending the cup.

“It’s a given now in Europe. Captain has to get a tattoo,” Harrington said. “And I don’t have any other tattoos at this stage, so it would be a new experience for me.”

[divider] [/divider]

Ryder Cup Rewatchables: Henrik Stenson’s Cup Clinching Putt in 2006

[divider] [/divider]

As for where a theoretical tattoo would go?

“I don’t know,” the three-time major winner said. “Depends how long it is.”

The post Paddy Harrington says he will go through with team’s tattoo dare appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Stenson will tee it up for the 20th successive time at Emirates Golf Club in what will be the 32nd edition of the Desert Classic from Jan. 28-31.

“It’s amazing to think that the UAE is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and that I lived in Dubai for almost 10 of those years,” said Stenson. “It’s always great to be back in Dubai. Emma and I got married here in 2006, and it still feels very much like home.

“I have had a lot of success in the region – I’ve won the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club, the DP World Tour Championship and also in Qatar, so I feel comfortable out here.”

RELATED: Ten Major champs poised for OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic

The 44-year-old has a stellar record in the Desert Classic, winning the 2007 edition with a birdie on the 18th to edge out Ernie Els by one stroke with Tiger Woods third, in addition to seven other top-ten finishes.

“I think I have probably played more rounds on the Majlis than anywhere else on Tour, so in terms of tournament preparation, I will base it mostly on getting used to the conditions that the course is in, because I know the layout better than most,” said Stenson.

“The Majlis is one of those courses that I never get bored of and always enjoy playing. Hopefully my knowledge of it will turn into an advantage this year.”

Joining Stenson is a raft of past winners also returning to the event, including Miguel Angel Jimenez, Haotong Li, Stephen Gallacher, Thomas Bjørn, Alvaro Quiros, recent major champions and former winners Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett, as well as three-time winner Ernie Els and defending champion Lucas Herbert.

Jimenez made his first outing at Emirates Golf Club in 1990 and will be teeing it up at the event for the 27th time, with his victory coming in 2010 after a play-off win over Lee Westwood.

Miguel Angel Jimenez

The Spaniard made four Ryder Cup appearances in his career and was twice a Vice Captain in 2012 and 2014. He holds many European Tour records, including the highest number of starts (710) and he has made 10 holes-in-one on Tour, breaking the record previously held by Colin Montgomerie.

“I love coming back to Dubai every year and this tournament has a special place in my heart,” said Jimenez. “It has always been a great place to play golf and as the first event the European Tour held in the region, the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic is one of the most important to the players.”

Scotland’s Gallacher remains the only player in tournament history to have won the title in back-to-back years have triumphed in 2013-14.

Stephen Gallacher

“I love coming back to this event because the Majlis is a course I know I can play well on,” said Gallacher. “Any time you come to a venue where you have won before gives you confidence – and that, in addition to the slight breeze you often get and the humidity, makes me feel comfortable.

“Winning the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic twice in a row is certainly one of the highlights of my career so far and I’d love to add a third.”

RELATED: Wilco Nienaber is bringing his ‘nuke’ powered driver to the Desert Classic

China’s Li, who became the first Asian player to win the title in 2018 with a one-stroke win over Rory McIlroy, is also keen to immerse himself in the familiar sights and sounds of Emirates Golf Club once again.

“This is a special event on the European Tour and one I always look forward to playing,” said Li. “I have great memories of winning three years ago and it would be nice to make more memories this year.”

Haotong Li

An elite field has been assembled at Emirates Golf Club including Major champions Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, Graeme McDowell, Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer and Padraig Harrington, and countless Ryder Cup stars including Lee Westwood, Tommy Fleetwood, Ian Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Casey, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Matthew Fitzpatrick, all set to vie for the Dallah trophy.

In what is the 32nd staging of the tournament, attendance will be for invited guests only, but the action will be beamed to a worldwide audience on mainstream broadcast sports networks, and highlights and exclusive content will be shared on the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic social media channels.

RELATED: Paul Casey set for Majlis return as second wave of Desert Classic player confirmations unveiled

The post Henrik Stenson headlines past winners set to help mark UAE Golden Jubilee at Desert Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
In the 25 years that have passed since he graduated top-of-the-class from the second-division Challenge circuit, Thomas Bjorn has enjoyed a variety of roles and experiences on the European Tour. Multi-tasking is clearly his forte.

Three times a Ryder Cup player, the Dane served as a captain’s assistant in the biennial contest with the United States on three occasions before memorably leading the Old World to a seven-point victory in Paris two years ago. Prior to that honour coming his way, Bjorn spent almost a decade as chairman of the European Tour’s influential tournament committee. All as a prelude to his present role as a member of the tour’s board of directors.

More numbers. Next week’s Wales Open will be the 49-year old’s 552nd European Tour appearance. His opening round will be 1,871st. Along that impressively stamina-inducing way, Bjorn has made 384 cuts en route to recording 110 top-10 finishes, of which 15 were tournament victories achieved in 11 different countries. His career earnings currently sit north of €21 million.

All of which involved a lot of walking over the last three decades or so. But Bjorn is not done on that front, albeit off the course on this occasion. Inspired by the almost £33 million raised by centenarian Sir Tom Moore for the U.K’s National Health Service, Bjorn is spending the next four days hiking the roughly 130 miles from European Tour headquarters at Wentworth to Celtic Manor in Wales, site of this week’s Celtic Classic. All to raise money for Unicef UK and the Golf Foundation. Having left Wentworth just as first round play began Thursday morning, he will, if all goes to plan, arrive at the venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup just before the final round leaders in the Celtic Classic tee-off on Sunday afternoon.

Typically, Bjorn has prepared well. European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley reports that telephone chats between the two over the last couple of months have often taken place during Bjorn’s sometimes 11-hour walks. “Thomas has trained hard for this,” confirms Pelley.

And that discipline seems to be paying off, at least initially. A couple of hours into his trek from Wentworth to Wales, Bjorn, sustained by audio books, podcasts and phone calls from friends (“and annoying journalists,” he was quick to add), was feeling no pain. But a sense of realism remained.

“I’m not the youngest or the fittest, so this is a bit of a test,” he said when talking to Golf Digest after covering the first 12 miles or so. “It’s going to be very tough to do this in four days, but I suppose the whole point of doing it is that it’s not meant to be easy. If I am going to ask people to donate their hard-earned cash then I need to earn that donation. Walking between 10-12 hours a day for four consecutive days will push me to the limit.

“During lockdown I found it hard not to be playing golf pretty much every day. That left a big hole in my day-to-day life. I realized that walking was a big part of my life as a golfer. So to get out of the house relieved a lot of mental stress for me and was very therapeutic.”

And, in turn, hopefully profitable in support of two worthy causes.

The post Thomas Bjorn is walking 130 miles from Euro Tour headquarters to Celtic Manor for a noble cause appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.