Thomas Bjørn has heaped praise on Europe’s rookies ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, and says the current team “will change how Ryder Cups will be for Europe going forward”.
The Dane, who captained Europe to a 17½-10½ victory over the US in Paris five years ago, is particularly excited to see fellow countryman Nicolai Højgaard in action, a player he says has “a huge game”.
“He has a huge amount of talent. The way he hits the ball is special,” Bjørn told Golf Monthly ahead of the much-anticipated showdown in Italy.
Bjørn says he has got to know the man from Billund very well over the last year, during which time he has been in regular contact with the 22-year-old, already a two-time winner on the DP World Tour.
“He has the right attitude,” added Bjørn. “He’s a winner. He wants to achieve things. He’s never a person to shy away from tough things. He doesn’t get scared. He actually elevates himself in tough situations.”
Luke Donald and his European team spent 36 hours at the Ryder Cup venue before the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Bjørn, one of Donald’s vice captains, said the trip was “unbelievable” and extremely valuable for the skipper, who’s charged with winning back the Ryder Cup after America’s dominance at Whistling Straits two years ago.
“It was a really, really, really, really good experience to see these 12 together,” said Bjørn. “They all had a good time.”
Great Danes Nicolai Højgaard and Thomas Bjørn
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Bjørn also revealed how the team are enjoying a great camaraderie, which has been boosted by a healthy amount of banter, mostly at the rookies’ expense.
“As any team in sport, they are hard on the rookies, they are giving them plenty of stick but in the right sort of manner,” said Bjørn.
“When you are a captain, if you have to get involved in trying to create a camaraderie then that becomes a very difficult thing. This group certainly doesn’t need any help to like each other.”
Højgaard is one of four rookies in Donald’s team, the others being Robert MacIntyre of Scotland, Austria’s Sepp Straka and man of the moment, Ludvig Åberg.
Donald described the…
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