Denmark’s all-time leading golf money winner believes he has finally rediscovered his form after a long victory drought.
While the careers of his fellow countrymen Søren Hansen, Anders Hansen and Søren Kjeldsen have really taken off over the past few years, golf veteran Thomas Bjørn had been suffering the longest spell of his career without a victory – until yesterday.
The 39-year-old Bjørn shot 23 under par in gusty conditions at the Estoril Open de Portugal to take the trophy – a full five shots ahead of runner-up Richard Green.
Bjørn, who in 2001 was ranked in the world’s top 10, had been a major force on the European Tour until his previous win in May 2006 at the Irish Open. But after a spat with Welshman Ian Woosnam that September over being snubbed for Europe’s Ryder Cup team, Bjørn’s form started to decline.
But the Dane said he feels he is finally getting his game back to where it was four years ago.
‘It was certainly nice to win again,’ Bjørn told europeantour.com. ‘I had a lot of chances to keep the chasing pack behind me, but I was probably a little bit more nervous than I might’ve been in the past. Still, I had a game plan to shoot in the 60s [in the final round], and I knew that if I managed to do that in those conditions, I’d be very tough to beat’.
Meanwhile, young Danish golfer Mark Haastrup achieved the best result of his career in the tournament, finishing third.
