Thomas Bjorn proud and honoured to be named Ryder Cup captain
Tuesday 6 December 2016 14:29, UK
Thomas Bjorn described his appointment as Ryder Cup captain for 2018 as one of the greatest moments in his career.
Bjorn is relishing the chance to start planning to win the trophy back at Le Golf National in Paris, having tasted defeat for the first time in his involvement with the competition at Hazeltine National earlier this year.
The Dane had previously enjoyed six victories as a player and vice-captain, and he feels he is the right man for the job after being the unanimous choice as 2018 captain following a meeting of the selection panel at Wentworth on Monday.
"It's amazing, it's obviously got to sink in," said Bjorn, who became the first Danish player to feature in the Ryder Cup when he made his debut under Seve Ballesteros at Valderrama in 1997.
"I watched a lot of captains as a player and as a vice-captain and always wondered what that feeling would be like, to be the man in charge and heading up a team of 12 great players and now it is my time to do it. So it is an exciting for me and really to fathom what it is and how big an honour it is.
"I have such a good relationship with the players on the European Tour and the players that represent Europe in the Ryder Cup, to lead them out will obviously be a great honour. The process all the way to Paris, I've never looked forward to anything so much in my life.
"It is a fantastic moment for me. I am just going to let this sink in, enjoy the moment and then get to work and there is so much to take in when you get a phone call like that - waiting for it was certainly tough.
"There is so much talent on Tour, it is almost that we needed this transition period in 2016 to get these guys through and there is more coming behind them as well. There was a lot of guys that missed out at Hazeltine that are still young and have the talent and they could very easily make the team.
"But those boys that are the top players and sit in the top of the world rankings are some of the best players in the world and they will sit there for many years to come. So it's a mix and match of those two things that will stand us well.
"I think our European team will grow in strength, but it will grow in strength from the bottom up, that's always a good thing. I think it will be a hard-fought battle to make this team, that's for sure.
"This role will take up my whole life and it will be one of things where you live and breathe the Ryder Cup night and day. I have lived and breathed the European Tour for years and now my attention will turn to the Ryder Cup as we get closer it will turn to the team.
"But I am just so excited and so much looking forward to taking on a task that honestly I never thought was going to be something I was going to do."
