Thomas Bjørn will return to the Ryder Cup fold next year after Luke Donald announed the Dane as his second Vice Captain for the biennieal contest which will be played at Bethpage Black.
It will be the sixth time in total the former Dubai resident has been a Vice Captain in the golf's greatest 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.
“It was a natural progression from last time,” said Bjørn, who was 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.
“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 added: “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.”
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.
