‘A pretty dark time’: Pro’s raw interview reveals he debated giving up

Question one was a layup. 

“Seven birdies and an eagle today. What goes through your mind when it’s going so well?”

“Yeah, I was in the zone and things just came a little bit easier today,” Lucas Bjerregaard said, “and yeah, hoping for more days like that.”

Question two then dug a little deeper.

Bjerregaard was talking in what’s been dubbed the Green Room, a platform concocted by the DP World Tour, and its format’s unfussy: just a computerized-sounding questioner and a yellow chair on which to relax and respond. Other pros have jumped in. Friday, after the British Masters’ second round, Bjerregaard made for a logical choice. 

He’d just shot a scorching six-under 66 at the Belfry, and he was four back of the lead entering the weekend. But it’s been a while since the 33-year-old Dane’s been in such a spot. In 2017, he won the Portugal Masters. A year later, he won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. In 2019 and 2020, he hopped across the pond for PGA Tour events. But golf is fickle. This year, Bjerregaard’s been playing events on the Challenge Tour, the circuit just below the DP World Tour. 

And the Green Room’s voice was curious about it all. 

What followed was raw honesty. Below is the interview. Below that is the back and forth, with the questions written in italics, and some additional thoughts. 

“You’ve been on the Challenge Tour this year, but have played so well these past two weeks. How do you explain that?”

“I don’t know, I think it’s been coming a little bit,” Bjerregaard said. “I had three top 10s on the Challenge Tour before last week, so game’s obviously been trending a bit. Before that, there wasn’t much pointing in the direction of any good result. I think I was maybe on the verge of giving up the game a little bit, and I think that’s helped me to just go out there and play a little more carefree and not worry too much about it.”

He’s right about the top 10s — starting last month at the Black Desert NI Open, Bjerregaard’s tied for seventh, eighth, eighth again and second. But that had followed a 2023 campaign where he had just one top 25. And 2022 and 2021 seasons where he had three.  

“If you don’t mind, could you tell us about the last few years? When it’s not going well, what’s that like?”

“I’m not sure what the reason is,” Bjerregaard said. “I think it’s a bit of a snowball effect with many things. I think my technique hasn’t been good enough, and my confidence sure as anything hasn’t been anywhere near where it was back in my prime. It’s been tough, no doubt. I felt very alone. I felt very much looking for answers and not finding anything and it felt the more I tried, the less success I had. Start of the year, I hurt my back vacuuming at home and I had two, two and a half months where I couldn’t play, and it was a pretty dark time where I thought about maybe doing something else than playing golf, so again, maybe I had to get there before I could start playing better again.” 

“You said you almost quit the game. What gave you the motivation to keep going?”

“Probably my wife and kids,” Bjerregaard said. “Most of the things I do is for them. They’ve supported me, and I think it would be wrong to give up. My wife has stood behind me through all of this, and it’s been tough as a family to go through it, but she believes in me and I’ve got a good group of people at home believing in me and helping me out as much as they can, and I think I owe it to give it my all.”

Bjerregaard’s wife is Henriette; his children are Josephine and Noah. 

“Thanks for being so open and honest. It’s great to see you playing well. Good luck, Lucas.” 

“Thank you.”