No.1 PGA Tour holder Michael Thorbjornsen might have inherited golfing talent from his parents: his father, Ted Thorbjørn, and his mother, Sandra Chiangparents.
His father and mother were professional golfers, so he had seen them playing since an early age. Subsequently, Michael Thorbjornsen first tried golf when he was just two years old.
Since then, his interest in golf grew, and with time, he started taking golf classes from his father, Ted Thorbjørn, who later became his lifelong swing coach.
On the other hand, Michael’s mother, Sandra, was a reputed player who used to play golf professionally at Ursuline College in Ohio.
Michael’s mother, Sandra, returned to the golf course a day after giving birth to her son
When Sandra was pregnant with her fourth child, son Michael, she was still actively playing golf.
She missed a tee time with her friend in the early morning of September 16, 2001.
When her friend contacted her to ask about her whereabouts, she revealed she had just given birth to her son that morning, and her friends were shocked.
Sandra also mentioned that her son was born just hours before she planned to play 18.
Just one day after her labor, Sandra returned to the golf course with her newborn son, Michael. On his second day on Earth, he was on the golf field listening to the ping of the driver meeting a golf ball.
Therefore, many claim he was born for this.
He started making people shocked by his extraordinary golfing skills at the age of only 4 or 5.
Further, he also participated in various golf championships during his high school education at Wellesley High School.
In 2019, he became Wellesley High School golf MVP, winning Two-time IMG Golf Player of the Year.
After graduating from high school in 2020, he attended Standford University. During his college years, he kept busy with his golf career.
His father revealed that when Michael was preparing to get selected for his second U.S. Open, he and his father had not met each other for almost three years.
They only used to have father-son or teacher-student talks via Zoom meetings.
After 21 years, he has secured a huge place in golf by becoming No. 1 in PGA TOUR University’s first ranking for the Class of 2024.
Those achievements would not have been possible if his parents had not introduced him to golf at an early age.
Additional Information
- Michael Thorbjornsen was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 16, 2001, and is currently 22 years old.
- His mother, Sandra Chiang, is a Zimbabwean, and his father, Ted Thorbjørn, is a Norwegian.
- He has three younger sisters: Victoria Lotus, Michelle Caprice, and Teresa Corniche. He resides in Town in Massachusetts.
- In late 2023, he withdrew from the U.S. Amateur Walker Cup due to his left ankle surgery and back fracture. He took nine months of leave due to his injury, and he says not getting back to play “was kind of disgusting.”
- Michael won the Olympia Fields Fighting Illini Collegiate by beating one of the year’s most vital fields at the former U.S. Open venue.
