Thomas Bjorn praises Anders Hansen after retirement from golf

Thomas Bjorn has paid tribute to fellow Dane Anders Hansen, who called time on his professional career at last week's Portugal Masters in the Algarve.

Hansen, a two-time winner of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, is keen to spend more time with his family and says his one regret was never qualifying for Europe's Ryder Cup team.

The 45-year-old bowed out after sharing 22nd place at Vilamoura and Bjorn said of his compatriot: "I've known Anders since we were 14.

"We were roommates in Danish amateur teams. Anders is an unbelievable talent. He probably could have achieved more than he accomplished but he's had a great career.

"He hasn't enjoyed the last couple of years, with the travel getting to him, and you can totally understand he wants to spend more time with his family."

Hansen added: "I had been thinking of retiring from the tour last year but then this year I went out wondering if I wanted to continue and, to be honest, I am no longer enjoying the travelling plus I have other things going on.

"For me to be able to continue to compete at this level I need to put more effort into my game but I just don't have the time for that.

"I have three children aged nine, 12 and 17 and I want to be able to spend more quality time with them."

As for his career, he went on: "Looking back on my career I am very proud of my achievements and I worked very hard to achieve what I achieved.

"Of course I would have liked to have won more tournaments but then golf is not always up to you as you can go out and play your best and other things happen so that you don't end up winning.

"If my short game had been a lot sharper I may have won more but all in all I am quite pleased.

"The proudest moments of my career were winning twice at Wentworth and a third-place finish in the American PGA in 2011.

"I would have liked to play in the Ryder Cup but as I said, it's been a great career."