THOMAS BJÖRN can say sorry, and yesterday he did. Twenty-four hours after the most remarkable outburst to be made about a colleague since Severiano Ballesteros called Miguel Ángel Martín, a fellow Spaniard, “a squarehead” in the build-up to the 1997 Ryder Cup, Björn apologised “unreservedly” for the “hurtful” remarks he had made about Ian Woosnam, the Europe captain in the forthcoming Ryder Cup match.
The Danish player accepted being fined a “considerable” sum by the European Tour, which moved quickly to react to Björn’s savaging of Woosnam on Monday and, while it has not revealed the extent of the fine, it is certain that it is heavy — by its standards, at least.
“We are aware that he has apologised to Ian Woosnam and he has also apologised to the Tour,” a statement from the European Tour said. “We take this matter extremely seriously and we have fined Thomas a substantial sum. He has accepted this fine. This unfortunate episode is now closed.”
The Tour can hope that the episode is closed as much as it likes, but there is no chance of that happening. Björn’s remarks were so severe that they will not be forgotten for years and the Ryder Cup that starts at the K Club, Co Kildare, in 16 days will for ever be the one that was preceded by Björn’s attack on a fellow professional.
Some good may come of it, however, if Woosnam has learnt that he must try to communicate more and be less introspective. Bernhard Langer, José María Olazábal, Carl Pettersson, Johan Edfors and, to a lesser degree, Luke Donald, were surprised — if not as surprised as Björn — that Woosnam had not spoken to them in the weeks and months before Sunday’s announcement of the team.
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A few judicious words by Woosnam would have helped to stem the mutterings of discontent to which Björn referred on Monday and which may not have been stilled by the manner of Björn’s apology. Far from the case being closed and Woosnam feeling that justice has been done, the captain must do his bit to quieten those who are questioning his leadership style.
Björn launched his attack on Woosnam when he learnt that he was not one of the captain’s two choices in the 12-man team for the biennial competition. Woosnam chose Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, and Björn felt strongly that he should have had Westwood’s place.
“Having had a day to reflect on my comments, I would like to apologise for the hurtful and personal nature of my remarks to Europe captain Ian Woosnam,” Björn said yesterday. “I realise I have made a mistake and, as such, have unreservedly apologised to Ian for my comments, which were made in the heat of the moment following the disappointment of not making it on to the European team.
“I am a passionate guy who believes that the Ryder Cup is one of the world’s greatest sporting events and I was desperately disappointed not to make it into the team. I realise that it is 100 per cent the captain’s choice and in Lee and Darren I believe he has picked two great players. All I want now is for all the media, players and golf fans to get behind the team for the matches in Ireland and for my comments to be forgotten.”