Updated 11.05
THOMAS BJORN will captain Europe at the next Ryder Cup which takes place in Paris in 2018.
The announcement was made on Tuesday morning after the European selection committee identified the Danish golfer as their preferred candidate to succeed Darren Clarke.
“It’s a huge honour for me to be named European captain for The 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris,” Bjorn said. “This is one of the greatest days in my career.”
The 45-year-old has Ryder Cup experience both as a player and as a vice-captain, and was one of Clarke’s assistants at Hazeltine in September. Europe lost 17-11, the continent’s first defeat in the match in eight years and their heaviest since 1981.
Bjorn was selected by a five-man committee comprised of Europe’s three most recent captains — Clarke, Paul McGinley and Jose Maria Olazabal — players’ representative Henrik Stenson, and European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.
“I studied a lot of captains as a player and as a vice captain and always wondered what that feeling would be like to be the one leading out a team of 12 great players. Now it’s my turn to do just that and it is an exciting moment for me.
“I have lived and breathed the European Tour for so long, and now I will do the same with The Ryder Cup for the next two years. I’m very much looking forward to taking on this task.”
The 2018 Ryder Cup is scheduled to take place at Le Golf National from 28-30 September.
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