Thomas Bjorn

A four-time Ryder Cup winner – including once as captain – Thomas Bjorn is among the finest European players of his generation.

However, the Dane’s career will always be most synonymous with The Open and his near-miss in 2003. Twice a runner-up at The Open, Bjorn came close to realising his childhood dream of lifting the Claret Jug.

He finished best of the rest alongside Ernie Els in 2000, eight strokes behind runaway winner Tiger Woods, but could – and perhaps should – have won three years later. Bjorn held a two-stroke lead with three holes to play at Royal St George’s in 2003 and seemed destined to lift the Claret Jug until he hit his tee shot on the 16th.

Bjorn’s shot was just a touch too far to the right and he watched in disbelief as it rolled off the green and into the bunker. Incredibly, his short game failed at the pivotal moment and Bjorn needed three attempts to get out, the first two lacking enough juice to climb the slope.

Though he eventually salvaged a double bogey, the damage was done and he finished second to Ben Curtis. Bjorn went on to secure eight top-10 finishes at majors, including another T2 at the 2005 PGA Championship.

He burst onto the scene in 1998, with three DP World Tour wins at the Heineken Classic, Open de Espana and Sarazen World Open. A regular DP World Tour winner, he had 15 by the time of his 50th birthday, including three in 2011.

He was part of the victorious European Ryder Cup teams in 1997, 2002 and 2014, while he captained them to success at Le Golf National in 2018.