Luke Donald has named Thomas Bjørn as his second Vice Captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup which will be played at Bethpage Black, New York, USA, from September 26-28, 2025.
Bjørn returns to the role having also been one of Donald’s five Vice Captains in 2023 when Europe defeated the United States 16 ½ - 11 ½ at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Italy.
It will be the sixth time in total the Dane has been a Vice Captain in the biennial contest and the tenth time overall that he has been part of Team Europe, having also been a player on three occasions as well as the victorious Captain at Le Golf National, Paris, in 2018.
The 53 year old is the second Vice Captain to be named by European Captain Donald following Italian Edoardo Molinari, whose appointment was announced in January.
Bjørn said: “It was a natural progression from last time. Luke called me and said he wanted me to carry on into New York, understanding that it's going to be a completely different Ryder Cup in 2025 at Bethpage.
“We had some conversations back and forth mostly about how to go from the victory in Rome and into a new set up for New York, debriefing on what happened in Rome and how we carry it forward.
“We had a fantastic environment in Rome. Luke did an amazing job. He was a fantastic leader, not just of 12 players, but of the whole Ryder Cup Europe team that worked so hard behind the scenes.
“It was amazing for me to be part of that because I knew how all of those things worked from Paris. To see how he added a few extra things in Rome and made it even better was amazing and I was very proud of him. He was exceptional.”
European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald said: “I am very excited to have Thomas back on the team. Once I was appointed as Captain again, my thoughts quickly went to who I wanted to have in the backroom staff. And Thomas certainly was one of those.
“He means a lot to me. He's passed on his knowledge and I've had a great relationship with him over the last few years. To have those relationships, to enjoy the people you're spending time with along that journey is really important.
“This is an away Ryder Cup, so the earlier we can start planning, the better. It has more challenges than a home match, but now I have Edoardo and Thomas alongside me I can get together with them and start the planning process around how we can create the right culture for the team to succeed in New York.”
Bjørn brings a wealth of Ryder Cup experience to the Vice Captaincy role, including twice being part of the backroom team for European victories in away matches, at Oakland Hills in 2004 and at Medinah Country Club in 2012.
He was also a Vice Captain for the home victories at Celtic Manor Resort in 2010 and in Italy last year, while his only reverse as part of Team Europe came at Hazeltine National in 2016.
Two years after that, in September 2018, Bjørn Captained Europe to a comprehensive 17½-10½ victory at Le Golf National in France.
As a player, he was part of three European victories. He made his debut under Seve Ballesteros in 1997, becoming the first Dane to represent Europe, winning one-and-a-half points from his two matches in Spain, partnering Ian Woosnam to defeat Justin Leonard and Brad Faxon in the fourballs, and then halving with Leonard in the singles.
He then contributed two points from his four matches under Sam Torrance at The Belfry in 2002, teaming up with Darren Clarke to defeat Tiger Woods and Paul Azinger in the fourballs, and beating Stewart Cink 2 and 1 in the singles.
His third appearance as a player came 12 years later when he qualified for Paul McGinley’s team at Gleneagles in 2014, partnering Martin Kaymer to earn half a point against Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker in the Friday fourballs.
Bjørn is the most successful Danish golfer of all time, with 15 victories on the DP World Tour. He has also won twice on the Legends Tour since turning 50 in 2021.
