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Thomas Bjorn appointed vice captain for Europe’s Ryder Cup

By Andy Hampson

Ryder Cup-winning captain Thomas Bjorn will serve again as assistant to European skipper Luke Donald in next year’s tournament at Bethpage Black.

The Dane, who led Europe to victory in Paris in 2018, will reprise the vice-captaincy role he served under Donald’s leadership for last year’s triumph in Rome.Bjorn’s reappointment was confirmed by Donald on Tuesday and comes after Italian Edoardo Molinari was also re-engaged ahead of the contest in New York.

Donald hopes the continuity will serve Europe well as they bid to win in the United States for the first time since 2012.

DONALD HAPPY

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.

“This is an away Ryder Cup, so the earlier we can start planning, the better.”

It will be the sixth time Bjorn has taken on a vice-captaincy and his 10th involvement in a Ryder Cup overall having also represented Europe three times as a player.

The 53-year-old said: “It was a natural progression from last time.

“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.”