An avid Arsenal fan who counts former captains Thierry Henry and Tony Adams as his sporting heroes, Thorp started the 2010 season without a Challenge Tour category but finished it by earning a European Tour card for 2011. He was a sponsor’s invite for the Telenet Trophy and finished in the top ten, securing his playing rights on the Challenge Tour for the rest of the campaign. Is a friend of Rory McIlroy, the pair having played with and against each other during their amateur careers, including when they both represented Europe at the 2004 Junior Ryder Cup. Was introduced to the game by his father at the age of six, and grew up idolising Tiger Woods.