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PGA Tour grants temporary membership to Euro star who took down Tiger Woods in Match Play
Mike Ehrmann
Lucas Bjerregaard introduced himself to many golf fans by taking down Tiger Woods in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. The 27-year-star will get the rest of the season to become properly acquainted with American galleries.
On Monday, the PGA Tour announced the Denmark star has accepted special temporary membership for the reminder of the 2019 campaign.
Bjerregaard nearly missed out on the honor at the WGC in Austin, as a win in the semi-finals or consolation match would have given him enough points to pass Ben Martin's 266 (last season's No. 150 on the FedEx Cup standings, which serves as the benchmark for this status).
“Yeah, it's obviously a goal of mine,” Bjerregaard said after he lost to Francesco Molinari. “I would love to play over here a bit more. I've really enjoyed these last few weeks. So, yeah, it would be nice to have the option to play over here a bit more at least. Hopefully I can play well the next few weeks and get that done.”
Bjerregaard, currently ranked No. 44 in the world, was able to pull that off with a T-21 finish at the Masters.
He is the only active tour player from Denmark, and joins Matthew Fitzpatrick as the second player to earn temporary membership this season. Although he is ineligible for the FedEx Cup Playoffs (unless he wins a PGA Tour event), Bjerregaard can accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the reminder of this season.
Bjerregaard's addition means 46 of the top 50 players in the world have PGA Tour status.