Tiger Woods as soon as misplaced to Lucas Bjerregaard, who now eyes DPWT return

What number of golfers world wide as we speak can say that they beat Tiger Woods in one-on-one match play?

Some European Ryder Cup stars, resembling Jon Rahm, can. However so, too, can Lucas Bjerregaard, the 33-year-old Dane who’s presently 378th within the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

In 2019, two weeks earlier than Woods triumphed at Augusta Nationwide, the 15-time main winner suffered a head-scratching defeat on the WGC-Dell Applied sciences Match Play in Austin, Texas.

Bjerregaard, then the 52nd-ranked participant within the OWGR, defeated Woods 1-up at Austin Nation Membership to advance to the semifinals. Earlier than that quarterfinal match within the afternoon, Woods defeated Rory McIlroy 2 & 1 in a star-studded showdown that morning. Many suspected that the winner of the Woods-McIlroy match would roll their technique to the finals, as Bjerregaard was an unknown to most American golf followers.

The Dane had different concepts.

After defeating 2016 Open winner Henrik Stenson, Bjerregaard beat Woods however then misplaced to Matt Kuchar and Francesco Molinari the next day to complete in solo fourth. He then tied for twenty first at The Masters, tied for sixteenth on the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, missed the lower on the U.S. Open at Pebble Seashore, after which posted one other T-16 at Royal Portrush.

However Bjerregaard has not performed in a serious for the reason that 2019 Open Championship.

He had blended outcomes on the DP World Tour within the fall of 2019 however nothing that jumped off the web page. Then, as quickly because the calendar flipped to 2020, his sport fully deserted him. He started 2020 by enjoying on the PGA Tour and missed 5 straight cuts earlier than the pandemic shut all the pieces down. When golf returned, Bjerregaard was nonetheless in a funk and missed three extra cuts on the Vacationers Championship, Rocket Mortgage Traditional, and Workday Charity Open. He returned to Europe in August, as he acquired no invitations to any of the majors postponed to that fall. Of the ten occasions he performed throughout that stretch, the Dane made solely three cuts, together with his greatest end being a T-27 on the Portugal Masters. He took house €8,487.00 that week.

The struggles continued in 2021, as he made 14 of 26 cuts on the DP World Tour. However he performed properly sufficient to maintain his DP World Tour card for the 2022 season. Regardless, 2022 turned out a lot worse than 2021, as Bjerregaard missed 19 cuts and completed one hundred and fortieth within the DP World Tour rankings. He consequently misplaced his standing for 2023, not even 4 years faraway from being a top-50 participant within the Official World Golf Rankings.

After being relegated to the Problem Tour, the DP World Tour’s equal of the Korn Ferry Tour, Bjerregaard continued to play poorly, making solely 12-of-21 cuts in 2023. He ended the season ranked 116th and didn’t even have standing on the Problem Tour for 2024.

“I really performed a little bit of Nordic Golf League to start out the yr,” Bjerregaard stated Wednesday.

Picture by Zhe Ji/Getty Photos

“I performed on invitations principally at first of the season.”

One way or the other, these invitations helped. They gave him a breath of life and a glimpse of hope.

Robust finishes all through the summer time adopted, after which, out of nowhere, Bjerregard tied for second at his nationwide open—the Danish Golf Championship on the DP World Tour—in late August. The DP World Tour invited him to play in his house nation, and he took benefit of the chance. Since then, he has not missed a lower and completed the season ranked twentieth within the Problem Tour rankings.

Now, he’s in Mallorca for the Problem Tour Grand Closing, an occasion by which 46 gamers compete for 20 DP World Tour playing cards. He has an amazing alternative in entrance of him—an opportunity to return to the DP World Tour.

“It’s nice to be right here on the Grand Closing, and it’s my second time enjoying at this occasion,” Bjerregaard stated.

“I’m attempting to take it someday at a time and put within the work. I’ve taken a glance again on the yr I’ve had and some months in the past I didn’t suppose I’d be on this place. This week means a lot to all of us, and it’s going to be troublesome for most individuals, so if I can deal with the strain slightly bit higher than them, I feel that shall be key.”

Bjerregaard final performed within the Grand Closing in 2013, when this occasion was held in Dubai. He completed solo 18th that yr, incomes his DP World Tour card by the slimmest of margins for the next season. He opened with a 1-over 71 and a 5-over 77 over the primary 36 holes that week, digging himself an enormous gap. However he bounced again emphatically with a 5-under 67 and a 7-under 65 to safe his card.

Eleven years later, he hopes to bounce again once more, though this one could be a a lot higher accomplishment contemplating the depths that his sport descended into.

“I’ve in all probability been by extra in my profession than many of the guys right here this week,” Bjerregaard added.

“There are a variety of up-and-coming gamers right here, and they’re fearless. They haven’t skilled the exhausting instances and simply how troublesome golf might be generally. Going by what I needed to undergo over the previous few years will assist me put issues into perspective slightly bit this week.”

Bjerregaard has reached the top of the game, defeated maybe one of the best participant of all time, and has had the chance to play—and play properly in—all 4 main championships. However he additionally noticed his sport fully abandon him, one thing no person needs on anyone. And but, 5 years after the height of his profession, Bjerregaard has an opportunity to safe standing on the DP World Tour as soon as extra. The whole golf world will cheer him on, hoping he can obtain the final word story of redemption.

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. Make sure to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.