Michael Thorbjornsen earned his nickname “Thor” at IMG Academy. One of his coaches told him his Norwegian last name translates to “son of a thunder bear.” The 24-year-old has lived up to the powerful moniker. He finished No. 1 in the PGA Tour University Class of 2024. He secured full PGA Tour status through 2026. His runner-up finish at the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship proved he belongs among the elite. Yet despite all this success, Thorbjornsen just pulled back the curtain on a reality most fans never see.

“I mean, every I you see all the girlfriends and the wives and the different players, and I’m just eating lunch by myself sometimes. I’m like, damn, like this sucks,” Thorbjornsen admitted about single life on the Tour in the video published October 28, 2025. He was in conversation with Matt Every on the “Every Tuesday” series.

Every didn’t miss the irony. He pointed out the apparent contradiction in Thorbjornsen’s situation. “Imagine being 24 years old, handsome as a devil, on the PGA Tour. Oh, yeah. And your nickname’s Thor,” Matt said. Yet there sits the World No. 74, ranked 74th in the Official World Golf Ranking, eating alone while watching couples everywhere.

So how does Thorbjornsen cope? He’s found a solution in Luke Clanton. The 21-year-old fellow single player has become his PGA Tour companion since he turned pro in June 2025 after the NCAA Golf Championship and made his pro debut at the RBC Canadian Open.

“I’ve been hanging out with Luke Clay a lot more, who is also single. So, we kind of just give each other a hard time. It’s almost like we’re in a relationship,” Thorbjornsen joked. The two young pros now share their loneliness. They play video games between tournaments. They hang out at each other’s places. They’ve created their own support system. This brotherhood matters more than most realize.

Both players came from college programs where camaraderie was built in. Thorbjornsen spent four years on the Stanford men’s golf team. Clanton dominated at Florida State, where he had 12 teammates he called his best friends. That automatic social structure vanished when they turned professional.

Now, they will compete in 25-30 tournaments yearly, spending roughly half the year on the road. The contrast between college golf and professional tour life couldn’t be sharper. The college provided consistent practice facilities and shared travel experiences. The professional circuit offers individuals primarily preparation. Players are competitors first, friends second.

Thorbjornsen isn’t alone in feeling this way.

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The reality of life on Tour for young players

Veteran players have described how isolation compounds when form suffers. Grayson Murray once stated that loneliness was the most challenging part of Tour life. Joel Dahmen explained how each step up the professional ladder gets lonelier. Victor Dubuisson even cited loneliness as his primary reason for retirement. The young pros try to manage it creatively. Thorbjornsen mentioned hanging out with Carl Yuan, his former Stanford teammate.

“Carl and I are staying together at one of my friends’ houses, and we’re just playing F1 and MLB the Show,” he explained. “That’s kind of how we kind of pass time and kind of get our minds off of the golfing part of things because I mean four or five weeks in a row can just really take a mental toll on you.”

This mental toll affects everyone differently. Some players form rental house crews to combat isolation. Others struggle silently. The PGA Tour has introduced mental health resources in response. Yet the fundamental structure remains unchanged.

Thorbjornsen has played 23 events since turning professional in June 2024. He’s earned over $1 million in career earnings. His best finish came with a runner-up at the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship. The success hasn’t eliminated the isolation, though. At least he’s found Clanton. Two young players navigating tour life together. Two friends making the lonely road a little less lonely. Sometimes that’s enough to keep going.