In an exclusive interview facilitated by Sports on TV and presented by LIV Golf Weekly, Alexander Björk shares his unfiltered thoughts on the nuances of professional golf.
Björk delves into the much-debated role of Rory McIlroy’s caddie, the inspirational impact of Henrik Stenson’s 2016 Open victory, and why Tiger Woods declined the chance to captain Team USA.
LGW: Rory McIlroy’s caddie gets a lot of undeserved criticism – have you seen Rory’s results in the last few years?
AB: Rory McIlroy’s caddie gets a lot of shit that he doesn’t deserve. If you look at Rory’s scoring and tournament positions and rankings over the last few years, he’s always up there in the top three.
I don’t get why people think his caddie is doing a bad job, I think he’s doing a great job.
It’s easy to say the caddie made the wrong decision for Rory afterwards. If Rory feels more happy to have his friend on the bag then he should have his friend on the bag.
LGW: McIlroy’s length with the driver makes him a hot favourite for The Open
AB: For sure I can see him bouncing back at Royal Troon. It’s a new opportunity for him.
I played a front nine at the course this morning and for anyone that hits long, there will be plenty of birdie opportunities so he’s got a great chance.
LGW: Alex Noren and Ludvig Aberg have great shots at winning The Open this week
AB: Absolutely! Both Alex [Noren] and Ludvig [Aberg] are great players and on any given week, they can definitely win.
Alex has won on that course before with the French Open six years ago and also in the Ryder Cup there.
Ludvig is also in great form so Sweden has a great chance of winning a gold in golf.
LGW: Ludvig Aberg did not collapse at the Scottish Open – he had bad breaks and he can overcome these at The Open
AB: I wouldn’t say it was a collapse, he just had some tough breaks.
It’s easy to lose out on winning a tournament if you’re going in the wrong direction while other players are hitting birdies and you can easily lose momentum and interest if you feel like your chances are drifting away.
It was similar during The Masters where he was in contention but he faded away. I would still definitely back him if he’s in a similar position on the final day at The Open.
LGW: Henrik Stenson’s 2016 Open win was inspirational and helped me win the Challenge Tour
AB: I remember it really well. I was back home and we had the club team championships in Sweden.
I had a summer where I was playing a lot of golf and I felt tired of playing golf and I was going to the Challenge Tour the week after.
I watched the final round and the duel between Henrik and Phil [Mickelson] and it was such an inspiration.
After he won The Open, I went over to play the Challenge Tour and I won over there because I thought well if Henrik can win The Open there’s no reason why I can’t win on the Challenge Tour so it’s a great memory for me.
LGW: Henrik Stenson’s win in 2016 was a historic moment for Swedish sport – and it’s still often replayed now
AB: Henrik is the only Swedish major winner and everyone was so happy for Henrik and to finally have a major winner in Sweden.
He won Athlete of the Year in Sweden and Swedish TV still shows ‘The Match’ which is the last day of The Open from 2016.
LGW: I wouldn’t rule out Henrik Stenson for victory at Royal Troon
AB: He knows the course very well, he’ll come to the course with a lot of great feelings. He’s a great player so he has a great chance of going all the way again.
LGW: Tiger Woods shunning Team USA captain makes sense – he’s not ready yet
AB: Tiger is the best player we’ve had so definitely it would be huge for Team USA if he was their captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup.
With his body, I think it would have been a struggle for him to be their captain for next year because you still need to play a lot of golf around the world and he’s not there yet.
Luke Donald was able to play with all the players and travel so I think Tiger wants to just focus on his game.
LGW: Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be a good golfer given his sporting prowess
AB: I don’t know if Zlatan has ever played golf! Even if he hasn’t played, I still think he would do well with the reactiveness he has and his physicality. With some practice, I think he could play golf at a good level.
LGW: The Open takes some getting used to – it will just take some adjustment to begin with
AB: I wouldn’t say it necessarily helps me but this is the sixth time I’ve played The Open so it’s easier to get used to the courses.
I haven’t played Troon but a lot of the Links courses play similar but it’s a bit of an adjustment at the start.
Before playing on the DP Tour, I hadn’t played a lot of Links because we don’t have a lot of Links courses in Sweden but now seven years in, I’ve played quite a lot of Links courses so I feel familiar with it.
It’s closer to home but I did enjoy the PGA Championship, that was a great tournament. It’s always fun to play The Open no matter which course it is.
LGW: I feel like I lost my swing in the United States and I’m trying to get it back
AB: I wouldn’t say I’ve changed that much. I’m trying to hit a bit longer which I’ve been working on since I didn’t feel well in the US.
It felt like I needed to do a lot of gym work and to get my body back in a good shape which I’ve been doing in the last five months so I feel stronger in the last year but my swing is similar.
I felt like I lost my swing a bit back in the US so I’m trying to get back to what worked last year.
LGW: Swedish golf is definitely on the way up again and it’s brilliant there are superb golfers in Norway and Denmark too
AB: Yes, it’s very exciting. There’s about eight Swedes in The Open this year. Sweden on the men’s side is starting to get really strong again.
Swedish women’s players have also been really strong in the last five years but the men haven’t had as many top placings in this time.
Like Scandinavian golf, Swedish golf is definitely on the way up again. The Danish have a lot of really good players and also Norway with Viktor [Hovland].
We’re doing something good because we don’t have the best weather but we do things in Scandinavia that are quite tactical.
If you’re a young golfer in Scandinavia during the winter, you don’t play golf. You tend to play other sports which are good for you physically.
We’re trying to make the best of our golf at the moment and I think we’re doing really well.
LGW: I fancy Team Europe to defend their Ryder Cup title in 2025
AB: I think Europe has a strong chance of defending their title. Team USA is always good but I’ll favour Europe to defend their title.
LGW: Keegan Bradley seems like a great choice for US team captain at the Ryder Cup
AB: There was a big debate that he should have been on the team last year. I don’t know much about how the Ryder Cup works in terms of picking captains.
I’m not sure what options they had but clearly Keagan is ready to play a bit less and take on the position.
I don’t know him well but I’ve played with him and he’s a nice guy so I’m sure he’ll do well for Team USA.
