“It was amazing. One of the highlights of my career for sure,” Bjerregaard recalls. “To even play against him was just a dream come true. Growing up, he was my idol. I mean, a lot of us really looked up to him for what he was able to do on the golf course. So, to then meet him and play against him was unbelievable… We just had an incredible match, and I was very fortunate to come out on top. Definitely something I look back on very fondly.”
Looking back on that breakout period, Bjerregaard reflects: “Back in 2018 we had our daughter and something there just clicked. It took my mind off the golf a little bit, and then for some reason I started playing better for it. I had a really good team and set up, I was just confident, started playing better, and then confidence just took over. Had a good run there for a couple years.”
After his impressive run, Bjerregaard fell out of form and lost confidence, with injuries compounding his struggles. He had a back issue in early 2024, and the poor form and health issues took a toll on his desire to continue playing professional golf.
“These last few years have definitely been tough on myself and the family,” he admits. “My relationship with the game is probably a little bit different now than it used to be.”
He entered the LIV Promotions event two years ago in Abu Dhabi but fell short. This time around, the appeal was too strong to ignore.
“I’ve played the promotions event there and it was a great setup, great event,” he says. “When I saw it come up again this year I thought, why not? It’s a great opportunity, and it would be amazing to make it onto LIV, that’s for sure.”
That appeal runs deeper than just another chance to compete.
“I think LIV offers a very different and unique relationship to golf and something a bit fresh and different,” Bjerregaard explains. “These last three or four years, not having played very well and struggled, it’s been a lot of travel and it’s been a lot of feeling alone in hotel rooms and stuff, and LIV seems to be the opposite of that. So that seems very appealing to me.”
The format of LIV Golf Promotions event, where scores reset and players must go low every day to advance, also plays to his strengths.
“I think it’s a great way of doing a qualifier like this,” he says. “I quite like that you have to be on every day… It definitely suits my game. That’s kind of how I’ve played these last few years. it’s been very much either I’m on or it’s been pretty poor. So hopefully I can have a few good days here.”
Among former Ryder Cup players and proven tour winners in a competitive field, Bjerregaard’s pedigree makes him a compelling dark horse. Can that magic return to secure one of LIV Golf’s golden tickets? Golf thrives on comeback stories. This week, Bjerregaard will aim to author one of his own.