Alexander Björk grew up learning golf from his grandparents at Växjö Golf Club. He turned pro in 2009, and in September 2025, at 35, he announced his retirement in a decision that caught much of the golf world off guard. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family. Less than a year later, he’s back for one more tournament, a return just as few people saw coming.

Björk has entered next week’s $3 million Danish Golf Championship at the Great Northern in Kerteminde. Speaking to Bunkered, he confirmed that his return, however, will most likely be his final competitive round.

“It’s most likely a one-event return; I made that decision last year when announcing retirement that I wanted to play an event this season as the final event,” he said.

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By September 2025, he was playing full-time on the DP World Tour after losing his PGA Tour card in 2024. And his last season before retirement told its own story. He had just four starts across almost the entire calendar, beginning with a tie for 48th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December. He followed it up with a tie for 27th at the Hero Dubai Classic and a tie for eighth at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in January, his best finish of the season. After a nine-month gap, he made his final appearance at the Omega European Masters in late August, missing the cut. He announced his retirement days later.

2023 was Björk’s best season on the Tour. He was runner-up twice, at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship and at the Omega European Masters, where Ludvig Åberg took the win for his maiden title. He finished 11th on the Race to Dubai and picked up dual membership on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour for 2024.

The step up to America was a reward for a career he had built since turning professional in 2009. But reaching the PGA Tour exposed the physical cost of getting there. He suffered a back injury that had already sidelined him for the latter part of 2022. And once he reached the PGA Tour, his fitness issues resurfaced. He missed the cut in five of 11 spring starts and managed only a tie for 11th at best.

Naturally, after facing struggles for two years, he decided to take a break from the course.

That said, performance decline was only part of the picture. When Björk confirmed his retirement in a lengthy Instagram statement, injury was not the headline.

“I want to spend more time with my family, and I feel truly motivated to start a new chapter in my life,” he wrote, further adding that he left “with joy, pride, and gratitude.”

Since then, rather than drifting away from the sport, Björk has spent his year off studying business development and leadership part-time. It is a deliberate step towards whatever comes next after Kerteminde.

Björk joins a growing list of unexpected returns

Nicolas Colsaerts followed a similar path. He retired at the end of 2025 after more than 500 starts, but kept playing into 2026, first the Mauritius Open, then the Australian Open and the BMW Australian PGA Championship, before his last start at the Soudal Open in his native Belgium in May.

Martin Kaymer left the European Tour for LIV Golf in 2022. He’s said he wants to come back, but not before 2027, and only if he thinks he still has a shot at making a Ryder Cup team. He still calls the European Tour his home tour.

Richard McEvoy won the Porsche European Open in 2018. He left the tour in 2024 to run his golf academy full-time, though a Legends Tour appearance down the line hasn’t been ruled out.

A back injury or a lost card makes for an easier headline than “wanted more time at home,” which is probably why Björk’s comeback feels more like a formality than a real reversal. The decision was made in September; Kerteminde is just where he’s chosen to close it out. What he does after is less clear. Colsaerts went into commentary, McEvoy into coaching. Björk spent his year off in business and leadership classes instead, which suggests he’s not looking to stay in the game at all.