After walking 210 kilometres in just four days, victorious 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn has raised more than £35,000 for UNICEF and the Golf Foundation as part of the European Tour’s #GolfforGood.
Donations for #Wentworth2Wales, inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore, can still be made after the 49 year old Dane completed his grueling four-day challenge in which he took 265,540 steps and burned 31,462 calories.
That’s the equivalent of playing 369 holes of golf over four consecutive days – breaking down to five rounds of golf per day.
Starting at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, at 07:15 last Thursday morning and finishing at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales, at 17:45 on Sunday, Bjørn was on his feet for over half of that time, spending 2,670 of the 4,950 minutes putting one foot in front of the other.
Bjørn, who carried the Ryder Cup trophy his European Team claimed two years ago in Paris, kept his mind occupied during his walk by listening to audiobooks and podcasts along the way.
He also received calls and messages of support from friends and family across the world, with Niall Horan, Jurgen Klopp, James Milner, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter and the man who succeeded him as Ryder Cup Captain, Padraig Harrington, among those reaching out. Europe’s ‘Captain Tom’ also received a special message from Sir Tom Moore, 100 year old known as ‘Captain Tom’ who captured the imagination with his incredible fundraising walk at his home for the UK’s NHS during lockdown and who inspired Bjørn’s own effort.
From one great Captain to another ❤️@captaintommoore, the inspiration behind #Wentworth2Wales with a message of support for @thomasbjorngolf.
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) August 15, 2020
Donate here 👉 https://t.co/GNoI1LkZIQ pic.twitter.com/PElqWt4tmp
A physically and emotionally drained Bjørn said: “It’s been such an emotional rollercoaster because there were moments when I genuinely thought I wasn’t going to make and that the pain was too much and then there were moments when I felt good and was focusing on the main reason I was doing the walk which was obviously to raise as much money as possible for UNICEF and the Golf Foundation.
“But it’s fair to say that I will be having a couple of days rest. My mind is actually ok but the body is tired and it feels like my ankles and feet will take a long time to recover.
“To raise more than £35,000 for two important causes is something I am very proud of, but like any other professional sportsperson I am a little bit greedy so I hope that number can still rise a little. It is still possible to donate on my Virgin Just Giving page.”
