CROMWELL, Conn. — New England has one other PGA Tour professional and his title is Michael Thorbjornsen.
After ending atop the PGA Tour College rankings, as Ludvig Åberg did in 2023, Thorbjornsen earned his PGA Tour card for the rest of the 2024 season and all of 2025. However since he hails from Wellesley, Massachusetts, a suburb west of Boston, the Vacationers Championship determined to award Thorbjornsen with a sponsor’s exemption, on condition that that is the one tour occasion held in New England.
“That is undoubtedly my house, I might say, on the PGA Tour,” Thorbjornsen mentioned in entrance of the press Wednesday.
“I clearly made my first PGA Tour begin right here two years in the past as an beginner. Love this place. It’s near house. Love the golf course. Vacationers does a tremendous job of internet hosting the gamers, the caddies, simply unbelievable hospitality and, yeah, I couldn’t ask for a greater begin.”
Two years in the past, earlier than this event developed right into a Signature Occasion, Thorbjornsen completed in solo fourth, 4 strokes behind winner Xander Schauffele. The previous Stanford Cardinal shot all 4 rounds within the 60s as he sat towards the highest of the leaderboard for a lot of the weekend. That robust efficiency got here one week after the 2022 U.S. Open, the place he missed the reduce at The Nation Membership at Brookline—simply miles from the place he grew up.
He acquired one other invite final 12 months however sadly missed the reduce. At the least a fellow New Englander, Keegan Bradley, emerged victorious.
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Thorbjornsen will make his skilled debut this 12 months, as he believes his prior experiences as an beginner have helped him immensely.
“Rising up as a child you at all times wish to be taking part in at that high stage, taking part in on the PGA Tour,” Thorbjornsen added.
“It’s undoubtedly a bit overwhelming at instances, however… the previous couple of years, I’ve been uncovered to increasingly more of this, so it’s not an excessive amount of of a shock to the system. I suppose I’m getting used to it. It’s okay, I actually don’t thoughts it in any respect.”
However now that Thorbjornsen has a much bigger alternative and can be within the limelight extra usually, he has an opportunity to affect different younger gamers from the New England space. He’s honored to have that chance.
“Simply since you’re from the northeast and it snows for greater than half of a 12 months, that’s no excuse. Simply maintain working exhausting, guys,” Thorbjornsen mentioned when requested if he had a message to youthful gamers from New England.
“I simply wish to set an excellent instance for these youngsters and encourage them to be the very best golfers and finest human beings they might probably be as a result of that’s what the fellows forward of me did for me as properly. So, hopefully, someday in 10 years, we’ll have a few of these youngsters out right here taking part in and beating me and successful this event.”
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By means of. Be sure you take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.
