British Open 2011: Vijay Singh Withdraws, Thomas Bjorn Added To Field

Three time PGA Tour leading money winner Vijay Singh withdrew from the 2011 British Open field late Monday afternoon, citing continual injury concerns stemming from problems with his back. The withdrawal itself was not a large surprise, given the persistent questions surrounding the Fiji native’s health since his mid-tournament departure from the AT&T National. However, the belated nature of it is sure to raise some inquiries.

Filling Singh’s spot is Denmark’s most successful golfer, Thomas Bjorn. An extremely efficacious European Tour mainstay, Bjorn was a member of the victorious European Ryder Cup teams in both 1997 and 2002. Though, it should be noted that the 40-year old has quite a long and tenuous relationship with the course at Royal St George’s Golf Club.

Bjorn famously held a two shot tournament lead at the 2003 championship with just three holes to go, before crumbling at the 16th green. The Dane’s opening tee shot tumbled into a bunker and stayed there for three successive shots. By the time the dust settled, Bjorn had notched a double-bogey on the hole, losing both his lead and the tournament championship to Ben Curtis in the process.