Well it was another awesome weekend on the Major
Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the European Tour
and Race to Dubai headed to the Netherlands for KLM Open and it was played on
the Kennemer G&CC, Zandvoort, The Netherlands. It carried a good prize
purse of €1,800,000 for the taking. Paul Casey (England) was the defending
champion but because he now plays the USPGA Tour fulltime he decided not to
defend his title so there was a new Champion. And it was the golfer by the name
of Thomas Pieters (Belgium) who scored rounds of 68-2, 66-4, 62-8 and a final
round of 65-5 for a 72 hole total of 261-19 to win by a single shot for his
second European Tour win of his career to date so far and his second win in as
many starts. He earned € 300,000 for the win and moved to twentieth eighth
position on the current 2015 Race to Dubai Points list standings with 747,766
points earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so
far. Rory McILroy (NIR) still leads that list with 3,012,000 points earned from
the nine events he has played to date this season so far. From the nineteen
events Thomas Pieters (Belgium) has played to date this season so far he has
made fourteen cuts and withdrawn from one event and it includes four top ten
finishes which includes the win this week and also his maiden win two weeks ago
at the D+D REAL Czech Masters. He will be happy with his four rounds this week
that were all in the 60s especially his 62-8 in the third round which was the
equal low round of the day!!
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| Thomas Pieters (Belgium) waits to tee off on the second tee |
Thomas Pieters (Belgium) played a great final round
of 65-5 which included a brilliant front nine of 32-4 which included birdies on
the par five, second hole, par three, third hole, par four, sixth hole and par five,
seventh hole and he made the turn at minus eighteen and was leading by a single
shot. Eduardo De la Riva (Spain) went out in 34-2 and made the turn at minus
thirteen and was five shots behind the leader. Lee Slattery (England) went out
in 35-1 and made the turn at minus seventeen and was one shot behind the
leader.
Thomas Pieters (Belgium) played holes ten to
fourteen in one under par and that included birding the par four, tenth hole
and par four, thirteenth hole but he made a poor bogey on the par three,
eleventh hole and he moved to minus nineteen and was now tied for the lead. Eduardo
De la Riva (Spain) played holes ten to fourteen in four under par which included
three straight birdies in a row from holes ten to twelve and also birdied the
par four, fourteenth hole and he moved to minus seventeen and was now only two
shots behind the leader. Lee Slattery (England) played holes ten to fourteen in
two under par and that included birdies on the par five, twelfth hole and par
four, fourteenth hole and he moved to minus nineteen and was now tied for the
lead.
Thomas Pieters (Belgium) played holes fifteen to
seventeen in even par and remained at minus nineteen and was still tied for the
lead heading to the par four, seventy second hole. Eduardo De la Riva (Spain)
played holes fifteen to seventeen in one under par which included making birdie
on the par three, seventeenth hole and he moved to minus eighteen and now was
only one shot behind the leader with just the par four, seventy second hole to
play. Lee Slattery (England) played holes fifteen to seventeen in even par and
remained at minus nineteen and was still tied for the lead heading to the par
four, seventy second hole.
Eduardo De la Riva (Spain) who was playing a few
groups ahead of the final group made a solid par at the par four, seventy
second hole and finished the seventy two holes at minus eighteen and was one
shot behind the winner. Thomas Pieters (Belgium) made a solid par up the par
four, seventy second hole and finished the seventy two holes at minus nineteen
and would have to wait to see if he would be in a playoff or win out right? He
finished the seventy two holes at minus nineteen and scored 33-1 on the back
nine. Lee Slattery (England) who was playing in the final group made a poor
bogey up the par four, seventy second hole where he missed his four foot par
putt to the left hand side of the cup and he fell back to minus eighteen and
finished the seventy two holes at minus eighteen to hand the win to Thomas
Pieters (Belgium) and he finished one shot behind the winner.
It had now been confirmed that Thomas Pieters
(Belgium) was the champion and he got a huge hug and high five from his caddie
and then he was interviewed by the golf channel reporter, John Hawkesworth and
he said to him “Thomas, many congratulation, three weeks ago you were looking
at your first victory, now you have two of them, just explain what is going
through your mind?” Thomas replied “Well I am a little bit surprised, Ah I was
ready to go for a playoff but a got a huge break from Lee (Slattery (England)
his fellow competitor), but I played good today, I played really good today
too!! But um I am really, really happy
with this one and I would say it is even really cooler than the first one!!” Then John said to him “You must have a few commiserations
for Lee Slattery (England) (His fellow competitor who missed the four foot par
putt to force a playoff on the seventy second green!!) Obviously he has had a
great couple of weeks, but for you now what are your goals?” And Thomas replied
“Ah, the third one it is pretty simple, um I mean when I teed it up this week
(At the KLM Open) I was confident, and um I tee it up to win and I did fortunately
and next time I tee it up I will do exactly the same thing” Then John said “A
couple of shots behind going out did you feel you needed to get off to a fast
start which you did?” Then Thomas replied “Yeah, I thought with the wind dying
down, and ah I thought a really low one (low score) was needed, so yeah missing
that one on the first, I was a little nervous, I got lucky on the third, made a
couple of birdies, and ah yeah I thought I had a good chance all day long, so
ah pretty happy ah!!” Then John asked him “If he was going to celebrate
tonight?” and Thomas replied “Um yes with my family here” and then John said to
Thomas “Well many congratulations you are the KLM Open Champion!!” and Thomas
replied “Thank you very much”.
It was his is second European Tour International
Schedule victory in his 49th European Tour event. He moves to 747,766 points in
The Race to Dubai. He could move into the top 90 in the Official World Golf
Ranking, from 141st. Before winning the D+D REAL Czech Masters he was
245th. He claims his second victory of the 2015 European Tour season,
following the D+D REAL Czech Masters. He becomes the ninth multiple winner of
the 2015 European Tour season. They are: Branden Grace (RSA) (Alfred Dunhill
Championship and Commercial Bank Qatar Masters), Anirban Lahiri (India)
(Maybank Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open), Andy Sullivan (England) (South
African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni and Joburg Open),
Rory McIlroy (NIR) (Omega Dubai Desert Classic and WGC – Cadillac Match Play),
George Coetzee (RSA) (Tshwane Open and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open), Jordan
Spieth (USA) (Masters Tournament and U.S. Open Championship), Danny Willett (England)
(Nedbank Golf Challenge and Omega European Masters), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand)
(Shenzhen International and Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play) and Thomas
Pieters (Belgium) (D+D REAL Czech Masters and KLM Open). He played his first 47
European Tour events without a victory. He has now won in his last two European
Tour events, the D+D REAL Czech Masters and KLM Open.
He becomes the first player to win in consecutive
European Tour appearances since Rory McIlroy (NIR) (2014 WGC – Bridgestone
Invitational and 2014 US PGA Championship). He becomes the first player from
Belgium to win twice in the same European Tour season. This victory comes in
his third appearance in the KLM Open. This victory beats his previous
performance in the KLM Open of tied 22nd in 2014. He becomes the first Belgian
player to win the KLM Open since The European Tour’s first season in 1972.
(Flory Van Donck (Belgium) did win the KLM Open in 1936, 1937, 1946 and
1951). He becomes the youngest Belgian to record multiple European Tour
victories, aged 23 years and 229 days. He began the final day two shots behind.
Is the sixteenth winner this season to make up a final round deficit and go
onto win. He won the D+D REAL Czech Masters with a total of 20 under par. He won
the KLM Open with a 19 under par score. He is now 39 under par for his last
eight rounds on The European Tour.
He became the fifth Belgian victory in European Tour
history. He joins Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) and becomes the second Belgian to
record multiple European Tour victories. He becomes the second youngest
multiple winner on The European Tour in 2015, behind Jordan Spieth (USA)
(Masters Tournament and U.S. Open Championship), who was 21 years and 329 days,
when he won the U.S. Open Championship. He becomes the fourth different player
to win their first two European Tour titles this season. They are: Anirban
Lahiri (India) (Maybank Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open), Andy Sullivan
(England) (South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni and
Joburg Open), Jordan Spieth (USA) (Masters Tournament and U.S. Open
Championship) and Thomas Pieters (Belgium) (D+D REAL Czech Masters and KLM
Open). Belgium becomes the 13th different country to win the KLM Open since The
European Tour’s first season in 1972. He gains a European Tour exemption until
the end of 2017. He gains his largest European Tour prize of €300,000. And
finally he gains his second win as a professional.
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| Thomas Pieters (Belgium) kisses the KLM Open Trophy he won!! |
Thomas Pieters
(Belgium) (27 January 1992) is a Belgian professional golfer who currently
plays on the European Tour. Thomas Pieters (Belgium) was born in Antwerp,
Belgium in 1992. He studied at the University of Illinois for which he won the
individual 2011 Jack Nicklaus Invitational and the individual 2012 NCAA
Division I Men's Golf Championship in his second year; the next year, he
finished second with his team at the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Golf
Championship and won the individual 2013 Big Ten Conference Championship. After
turning professional in the summer of 2013, he battled through all three stages
of the European Tour Qualifying School taking the 20th card at the Final Stage,
and qualified to play on the European Tour. His best result in his first year
was as runner-up in the 2014 Open de España, leading after the second and third
rounds, finishing sixth at the Russian Open Golf Championship and finishing eighth
at the 2014 Malaysian Open and at the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Championship. He
finished the year ranked #243 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR),
having ended the previous year at #1122. In 2015 he started with a fourth place
at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship which took him to # 156 on the OWGR. He
has also played in the Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing Continental
Europe): where they were the 2010 (winners). The Eisenhower Trophy
(representing Belgium): 2010, 2012 and also the Palmer Cup (representing
Europe): 2012 (winners). He is in awesome form at the moment and will be
looking to continue it in the weeks to come. I wish him every continuing
success for the rest of the 2015 European Tour and Race to Dubai.
The other player to tie for second position was Lee Slattery (England); he also earned € 156,340 for his efforts and moved to forty seventh position on the current 2015 Race to Dubai Money points list standings with 483,922 points earned from the twenty one events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty one events he has played to date this season so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one this week and his win at the M2M Russian Open the week before. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his 63-7 in the third round!! But he will be bitterly disappointed with the bogey five he made on the par four, seventy second hole that cost him his chance of back to back wins in as many weeks. But he has had a very good last two weeks and now looks safe to make it into the Race to Dubai Finals Series with six regular season events remaining. Lee Andrew Slattery (England) (born 3 August 1978) is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour. Lee Slattery (England) was born in Southport, Lancashire. He turned professional in 1998 and spent his early career playing in minor tournaments on mini-tours in the United Kingdom. He won the Tour Championship on the PGA EuroPro Tour in 2001. At the end of 2000 he moved to South Africa to play on the Sunshine Tour during the northern hemisphere winter. He was struck down by glandular fever in 2002, which forced him to take an extended break from the game. Having returned to golf in late 2003, Lee Slattery (England) resumed his career in South Africa before returning to the PGA EuroPro Tour at the start of 2004. He won twice early in the season, before getting the chance to play in the North West Challenge on the second tier Challenge Tour. He finished as runner up there and as a result further opportunities on the tour were forthcoming, which he made full use of. He finished tied for third the next tournament, and went on record three other podium finishes including a win in Sweden at the Telia Grand Prix. He ended the season on top of the Challenge Tour Rankings to graduate to the elite European Tour for 2005. Until 2011, Lee Slattery (England) had yet to establish himself on the European Tour, finishing inside the top 100 on the Order of Merit just once, in 2006. He missed out on retaining his card in 2007 by just €77, but immediately regained it via the end of season qualifying school. He lost his card in 2009, but regained it by finishing in the top 20 of the 2010 Challenge Tour rankings. On 9 October 2011, he won the Bankia Madrid Masters tournament with a 15 under par total with top players including world number one Luke Donald (England) in the field. It was his maiden European Tour title. After taking a two stroke advantage into the final round, it soon disappeared after a shaky start on the front nine with two bogeys early on. He recovered on the back nine though with a run of four birdies in five holes and despite a double bogey at the last, Lee Slattery (England) prevailed by a single stroke from Lorenzo Gagli (Italy). He secured his tour card for the 2012 season with this win. In 2014 he finished 111th in the Race to Dubai, one place and €7,318 short of retaining his European Tour card, leaving him with limited status for the 2015 season. He regained full status by winning the Russian Open in September, his second European Tour title. Let’s hope he can maintain this form in the events ahead. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2015 European Tour and Race to Dubai Final Series.
Coming in solo fourth position at 263-17 after seventy two holes was Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay); he earned € 90,000 for his efforts and moved to ninetieth position on the current 2015 Race to Dubai Points list standings with 235,515 points earned from the fifteen events he has played to date this season so far. From the fifteen events he has played to date this season so far he has made six cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one this week. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his 63-7 in the final round which was blemish free!! He got his 2015 season off to a terrible start with missing his first seven cuts!! But in his last eight events he has made six cuts and had two top ten finishes which is a huge improvement!! And his 2016 European Tour card now looks secure with six regular season events remaining but he is already exempt till the end of the 2016 season having won the 2014 BMW International as his maiden European Tour win. Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) (born 21 May 1983) is a Paraguayan professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) was born in Asunción. He was Paraguay's top ranked amateur golfer for six straight years before turning professional in 2003. In 2006 Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) won the Tour de las Americas Order of Merit with victory at the final event of the season, the Abierto Mexicano Corona. The tournament was also the second event on the 2007 Challenge Tour schedule, and the win enabled him to join the tour for the remainder of the season. He ended the season in eleventh place on the Challenge Tour Rankings to graduate to the top level European Tour for 2008. In his rookie season on the European Tour, Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) finished 153rd on the Order of Merit to lose his place on the tour. However he regained his card for 2009 by finishing 16th at the end of season qualifying school. He has kept his card since, with a best finish of 63rd on the Race to Dubai in 2009. Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) won his first European Tour event at the 2014 BMW International Open. The win also makes Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) the first Paraguayan to win on the European Tour. Let’s hope he can keep this form up in the coming weeks and make it into the top sixty players that get to play the Race to Dubai Finals Series. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2015 season on the European Tour and Race to Dubai.
Rounding out the top six in tied for fifth position at 264-16 after seventy two holes was Morten Orum Madsen (Denmark); he earned € 69,660 for his efforts and moved to sixtieth position on the current 2015 Race to Dubai Points list standings with 397,945 points earned from the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far he has made thirteen cuts and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one this week. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his 64-6 in the first round!! He will be looking for some more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead so he can increase his position further into the top sixty and make the Race to Dubai Final Series. Morten Ørum Madsen (Denmark) (born 9 April 1988) is a Danish professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour. Morten Ørum Madsen (Denmark) was born in Silkeborg. He took up golf at the age of 12, and enjoyed a successful amateur career during which he played in the Eisenhower Trophy while attending Oregon State University. He turned professional in 2011 and promptly won twice on the third-tier Nordic League, earning a place on the Challenge Tour. A consistent second season saw Morten Ørum Madsen (Denmark) earned promotion to the full European Tour for 2013. He finished 19th in the Challenge Tour rankings, but slightly improved his status with a tied for sixteenth at European Tour Q School. On 24 November 2013, he won the South African Open Championship by a margin of two strokes (which was his maiden European Tour win). Let’s hope he can keep the form he displayed past week up in the next few events he plays in. I wish him every continuing success for the rest of the 2015 European Tour season and Race to Dubai.
The other player to tie for fifth position was Eddie Pepperell (England); he too earned € 69,660 for his efforts and moved to thirty first position on the current 2015 Race to Dubai Points list standings with 701,809 points earned from the eighteen events he has played to date this season so far. From the eighteen events he has played to date this season so far he has made thirteen cuts and withdrawn from one event and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one this week. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his 64-6 in the final round that was blemish free. With six events remaining in the regular season he looks a certainty to make the Race to Dubai Final Series!! Eddie Pepperell (England) (born 22 January 1991) is an English professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. Eddie Pepperell (England) was born in Oxfordshire. He had a prominent amateur career, including finishing runner-up in the Boys Amateur Championship in 2009. He turned professional in 2011 but failed to earn a place on either the European or Challenge Tours, and he began 2012 playing on the mini-tours. However he received an invitation to the Allianz Open Côtes d'Armor Bretagne in May, the fourth event on the Challenge Tour schedule. He went on to win the event in a sudden-death playoff over Jeppe Huldahl (Denmark) and as a result secured his membership on the Challenge Tour. In 2013, Eddie Pepperell (England) placed tied sixth at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the very next day won through the qualifier for the U.S. Open at Walton Heath to win a place in his first major. Eddie Pepperell (England) lost in a three-man sudden-death playoff at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in May 2015. On a very difficult final day in windy conditions, Eddie Pepperell (England) shot a two-under 69, while all the other leaders were shooting over-par rounds, to come from seven strokes behind and join the playoff. Søren Kjeldsen (Denmark) (won with a birdie on the first extra hole), after Eddie Pepperell (England) and Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) could not get up and down for birdie from the greenside areas. This was Eddie Pepperell's (England) best ever showing on the European Tour to date and qualified him for the 2015 Open Championship. Let’s hope he can have more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead and even achieve his maiden European Tour win. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2015 European Tour and Race to Dubai Finals Series.
Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup Playoff
Series heads to the State of Illinois for the third of four 2014/15 FedEx Cup
Playoff Series events which is the BMW Championship and is played at Conway
Farms GC, Lake Forest, Illinois. Only the top seventy players on the
2014/15 FedEx Cup Playoff Series points list standings after the final round of
the Deutsche
Bank Championship will be eligible to compete in it.
Billy Horschel (USA) is the defending champion and will be keen for back to
back titles. It carries a huge prize purse of US $8,250,000 for the taking. All
the leading players on the USPGA Tour will be there including Rory McIlroy
(NIR), Jordan Spieth (USA), Jason Day (Australia), Bubba Watson (USA) and Zach
Johnson (USA) to name a few. Danny Lee (NZL) is the only New Zealander golfer
to make it and he will be looking for another high finish. It starts on
Thursday 17th September. I will report back who won the trophy next week.
So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list
standings this week and coming in at Number One Position for another spell and
the ninety fifth week of his career in total is Rory McILroy (NIR) who is fresh
off his tied for twenty ninth position at the Deutsche Bank Championship one
week ago and also his solo seventeenth position at the 97th PGA Championship
four weeks ago with 11.98 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at
Number Two is Jordan Spieth (USA) who is fresh off his missed cut at the
Deutsche Bank Championship one week ago and also two weeks ago missing the cut
at the Barclays with 11.96 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three
is Jason Day (Australia) who is fresh off his tied for twelfth finish at the
Deutsche Bank Championship one week ago and also his win two weeks ago at the
Barclays with 10.94 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is
Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh off his tied for twenty ninth position at the
Deutsche Bank Championship one week ago and also his solo third position two
weeks ago at the Barclays with 8.66 Official World Ranking Points and rounding
out the top five on the Official World Ranking Points list standings this week
is Rickie Fowler (USA) who is fresh off his win one week ago at the Deutsche
Bank Championship and also two weeks ago his missed cut at the Barclays with
7.77 Official World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) this week is in his
twentieth sixth week of another spell of being the highest ranked New Zealand
Golfer in the world after his tied for thirtieth third position at the Deutsche
Bank Championship one week ago. This week he climbs three places and rises to
fifty first position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list standings
with 2.38 Official Golf World Ranking Points.
Remember the more you practise the luckier you get!!
Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org,
Google search engine, europeantour.com, golfchannel.com
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