Congratulations to Michael Thorbjornsen on his PGA Tour card. Earning membership into the current and following seasons of the PGA Tour was no easy feat. It takes two years of consistently winning points and making moves to be in the top 5, much less the no. 1 spot.
Presenting the PGA Tour Card
On May 27th at Omni La Costa, PGA Tour University presented Thorbjornsen with his PGA Tour card. He will now have PGA Tour membership for the remainder of this season as well as the following season. This is a huge advantage as he transitions from college to professional play, allowing him to settle in and compete without the stress of keeping his card hanging over his head these next few months.
Anyone could see the disbelief and joy on Thorbjornsen’s face as he checked out his PGA Tour card, which was hand-forged and hand-stamped on metallic plates.
Thorbjornsen’s mom, Sandra Winterbottom, gave us more insight to how he got to where he is today. His entire community was behind him, and he continued to build support around him, from his coach to his teammates at Stanford. What may come as the biggest surprise is that Thorbjornsen didn’t have a swing coach as he ascended the ranks. This PGA Tour card is all him and his family.
If you’re interested in learning more about how PGA Tour University works, Fairway to Green interviewed Director of Player Relations Justin Bardgett about the ins and outs of the ranking system.
Photos From the PGA Tour University Presentation
Thorbjornsen’s Golf Journey (Thus Far)
Before Thorbjornsen was recruited to Stanford, he was unsurprisingly a highly decorated amateur golfer. As a member of the Junior Ryder Cup Team USA and a competitor in the Junior’s President Cup, it makes sense that he played in the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach at just 17 years old. He and one other person are tied for being the youngest to make the cut in this major.
During his freshman year at Stanford, Thorbjornsen’s best finish (13th) was at the Pac-12 Championship, where he shot a fourth-round 65 (-7), his lowest score of the season. He also went on to win the Western Amateur and Massachusetts Amateur that year.
Sophomore year was when Thorbjornsen began finding his stride, improving his scoring average by almost 1.5 strokes to 70.66; 14 of his 38 rounds were in the 60s, and his best finish was 2nd place at the Cabo Collegiate. He competed in the U.S. Open at The Country Club and then went on to place 4th (and low amateur) in the Travelers Championship, a fan-favorite PGA Tour stop in Hartford, Conn.
Thorbjornsen’s game continued trending up his junior year, with a scoring average of 69.26 and two collegiate event wins to his name – one of which was the Pac-12 Championship. He went on to shoot his lowest round of 63 (-9) at the NCAA Championship and qualify for the 2023 U.S. Open.
In his senior year, Thorbjornsen battled injuries in the fall but then went on to win the Cabo Challenge and place runner-up or tied-for-runner-up in his next two collegiate events. He finished T5 at the NCAA Regional, and while he didn’t play his best at the NCAA Championship this week, he did enough in the race for his card this year.
We’re looking forward to following along his journey on the PGA Tour.
