PRESSBOOK MCB TC 2023

Bjørn has been a big part in helping the Højgaard twins settle in on Tour

But the way the players took to that was amazing. It created an environment during the week at Wentworth where all of a sudden it had already started; they were already together as a team and it worked out very well. I worked very closely with Luke in his captaincy, and when I look back at it, it’s difficult to put your finger on anything that he did wrong. But the great thing about Luke was Luke never pretended to know everything. He was very curious in his way of talking to people. I worked closely with him, but he was always talking to people, he was always trying to figure something out. His captaincy was 99.9 out of a hundred and I think that also leads into him doing it again is the right choice, because that’s what the players want. And why would you not have a captain that the players are so supportive and behind, why would you not choose that? Why would you go down a different route? So I’m delighted. For me, it was a great experience, I enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed working with Luke, being in that environment and watching this team come into their own. I felt in Paris and from afar in 2021 that the European team might be heading in a strange direction, as you had this generation of players that were in and around the Ryder Cup for so many years that it didn’t really give an opportunity for these new superstars to form their own path. I felt in Rome that your McIlroys, Rahms and Hovlands could form the team the way that saw it, which created a great environment for the young guys. I think Luke identified that very quickly, that he could play into those three being leaders in

the team room, on the golf course, in their own minds. And I think that that made them so comfortable with each other. Our team rooms are amazing every time. I’ve been in winning team rooms a lot and I was in a losing team room with Daren Clarke in 2016, and that environment was still great. But there was something different about this team in Rome, it’s hard to actually pinpoint what it was. I think it had a lot to do with those top players being extremely comfortable in that environment, as they could then lead both on and off the course. WWG: If you got the call from Luke to take up the Vice Captain role again in 2025 would you accept? TB: I think Luke needs to sit down and obviously look at how he wants to do it. If he thinks that I can help him, then we’ll have to have that conversation. And that’s a big conversation to have. I felt after Paris my Ryder Cup story was done and then I got the call to play a part in Rome and was quite heavily involved. It takes a lot out of you to be a captain, but it also takes a lot for the guys around the captain; you put a lot of things, I wouldn’t say on hold, but that becomes your focus and that’s your path. So we need to have that conversation if that’s the route Luke wants to go. I have a lot of time for him, I think the world of him as a person and I think he was an amazing captain. I would love to be part of a team that could go to New York. Ever since it was announced, we probably feared that one the most of what’s ahead. If you can create an environment where a team could go to New

York and be competitive and maybe even win it. That would be some feat. WWG: Finally, I know you’re going to be playing at the Bahrain Championship in February. What are your thoughts on Royal Golf Club and how excited are you to head back there for the first time in 13 years? TB: I know they’ve made some changes since we visited in 2011, but I thought it was a good golf course. I’ve played in all the territories that we have played in as a tour in the Middle East. So, obviously Dubai has been the leader and then Abu Dhabi, Saudi, Oman, Ras Al Khaimah and now Bahrain again. Everything has to find a way and then grow from there, I’mjust glad we’re back in the Kingdom. I have fond memories of what it was back then and I’m quite sure in the last 13 years, a lot of things have happened. I’m looking forward to going back there and seeing the progression of the country, the progression of golf in Bahrain and trying to play my part in making the county the next chapter of our story. I’ll go back to it again, but it’s about making the game global. We have an opportunity in our game to touch every country, so we should be going everywhere to play the game. We have played a big role in growing golf in the Middle East, especially in the UAE, and now we have an opportunity to help grow it even further it in Bahrain. That’s the responsibility of the professional game as well, to be able to make sure we leave a footprint on the game and grow it in the places that we are lucky to be invited to play.

Worldwide GOLF 29