Blog
Swedish Summer
Back to work this week for the Nordea Masters in Sweden! For this edition of the event, we are playing at Hills Golf Club in Gothenburg. As a matter of fact, the course truly lives up to its name since there is hardly a flat area anywhere on it! Definitely going to be a good little work out for the players and spectators!
Moreover, the promoters have done a fantastic job of getting the course in good shape for us this week since, like a significant number of other areas in Europe, Gothenburg has had its hottest and driest summer for over 200 years and areas of the course have been badly burnt after 12 weeks of sunshine.
Furthermore, I am feeling great right now having just had two weeks holiday in which I managed to visit the Hugo Boss Headquarters in Stuttgart, play a Pro Am event in Switzerland as well as spending some days at the Belgian seaside with family and friends! I also had some quality time practicing with Nico and our coach Mich back in Brussels last week so I am officially fresh and ready to get going this afternoon! Time to go low!
Closing up in Hamburg
Very happy to have secured my spot playing the weekend here at Green Eagles GC after a pretty tense afternoon yesterday scoreboard watching!
Having made it just on the number, I had an early start this morning for the third round but managed to hole a few more of the putts I let slip away these past two days which has helped me make a decent move up the leaderboard!
As a matter of fact, a big storm has rolled in this afternoon and suspended play so I was lucky to get my a 18 holes in before it arrived. Tomorrow’s weather will be back to calm conditions and sunshine though so I am looking forward to shooting one more low final round before heading back home to enjoy a few weeks off!
Another German Adventure
Back to Germany again this week for the Porsche European Open! As a matter of fact, it’s another event this year which I have been able to drive myself to from Belgium which definitely makes a nice change from all the airports and flying! After a relaxing week off including a few days in South of France with family & friends I am ready and excited to get back into action again.
We are just outside of Hamburg this week and the tournament has a pretty strong field since quite a few of the US players flew in straight from The Open Championship at Carnoustie. Furthermore, Green Eagles Golf Club is definitely one of the longest courses we play all year so will require some strong hitting, but equally, the five par 5’s out there should give us a good chance at some low scoring too!
Moreover, there is set to be some pretty crazy heat here this week too. Temperatures are going to be around 30 degrees each day so making sure we stay hydrated will be pretty essential!
Teeing off at 1.10pm tomorrow and 8.10am Friday morning. Preparations complete and now ready to get going!
Two down...two to go
Very happy to be playing two more rounds of golf here in Scotland this weekend! The weather conditions have been perfect these last few days with warm temperatures and very little wind or rain. The forecast looks to be a little more challenging for today’s round but hoping I can still produce a few more birdies nonetheless!
As a matter of fact it has been quite a while since all three Belgian players made the cut at the same tournament...so it’s great to have the full team together for a few more days! Both TP and Nico have qualified for The Open Championship at Carnoustie already so hoping I can have another solid weekend here and be joining there next week too!
Off at 10.15am this morning. Let’s go low!
Scottish Summer
Great to be back in Scotland this week for the final Rolex event of the summer! You may remember in a previous post that I actually took a quick trip up to Edinburgh last month to visit my caddy Ryan where we squeezed in a little practice round at Gullane GC ahead of the tournament! With a couple of solid extra days practice at the course this week we are feeling all prepared and ready to go low! It’s a pretty straight forward links course this week but play will still be element dependent as there are some very exposed areas up at the top of the hills!
Furthermore, am staying in the nearby members accommodation at Renaissance Golf Club this week which is an incredible place! As a matter of fact, the Golf Club itself has just been announced as the host of the 2019 Scottish Open. Will hopefully get a chance to play a few holes over the next few days and get some insight ahead of next year’s tournament already!
Last but not least, this week is the final chance for us to secure a spot at next week’s Open Championship at Carnoustie. Fair to say I will definitely be aiming for that necessary top ten finish!
Irish Charm
Think it will be pretty tough to find views this season that are more amazing than at this week’s Irish Open event! Ballyliffin Golf Course is in great condition right now too. Really dry with consistently narrow fairways and thick rough everywhere. I am still feeling really happy and confident about my game at the moment so definitely excited about the challenge of playing some good links golf again!
Furthermore, not a crazy amount to do in the local area this week but already looking forward to watching the big match against Brazil tomorrow alongside fellow Belgians Nico & Pieters who are both in the field this week too!
Off at 12.40pm this afternoon. Have done some good preparation with Ryan over the past few days so ready now to get another good week going!
Finishing up in France
Back home in Belgium after a pretty great tournament this week in Paris! Always frustrating to finish with a double bogey on the final hole but nonetheless, very happy with a T16th finish and my best performance in a Rolex Series event so far. There are definitely a lot of positives to take out of my game these past few weeks and honestly, it felt good to be back up there chasing the leaders on a Sunday!
Thanks again to all the Belgian fans for coming out to watch and support this week! Also to the tournament promoters for putting together such an enjoyable event. It’s been a lot of fun!
Furthermore, I’ll be travelling onto Belfast early tomorrow ahead of my next event, the DDF Irish Open. Perfect planning to spend 24 hours at home and refresh before I can get back to business!
Halfway through the battle in Paris
Very warm but gusty conditions again here in Paris for the first two days of this week's French Open. After a solid but frustrating round of 74 yesterday it felt pretty great to shoot 2 under today in similar testing weather!
As a matter of fact, there is even more to play for these next three weeks (French, Irish and Scottish Open) since there are 3 qualifying spots available into this year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie for players who finish in the top 10 at each event!
Furthermore, I am really looking forward to getting to spend a few more days this weekend in such a beautiful setting in Versailles. Think some snails might be on the menu tonight!
Lovely being back in Paris, the City of Light
HNA Open de France this week in very sunny Paris! This is my third time playing this event as a professional and fair to say the course is in immaculate condition ahead of the Ryder Cup being hosted here later this year. However, it will be very demanding out there. The rough is pretty tough so just the same as last week in Cologne, hitting every Fairway will be essential!
Furthermore, great vibes this week already since I have the full team here including Jérome & Mich helping to fine tune my game, Vinnie and Lance (all the way from NY!) as well as my dad and some close friends who will be out watching on the course.
This is without a doubt one of the best golf courses we play all year and I already can’t wait to get out there and start making birdies! Off late at 14.20pm today - should be off the course just in time to support Belgium in the football this evening too!
Closing 66
Nice little closing round of 66 to finish up the event this weekend in Germany! After a pretty unsatisfying day on Saturday I did some good work with caddy Ryan and physio Fabien so it felt great to get out and play some confident golf early Sunday morning...as well as moving those 35 spots back up the leaderboard!
Recorded a T-17th finish & have nothing but great things to say about my experience at this year’s event in Cologne. I will be back!
Am now home in Brussels for only 24 hours since I will travel onto Paris for the HNA French Open this evening. As a matter of fact, this will be the fourth event on the European Tour this year that I have been able to drive myself to instead of flying! Already can’t wait to get going!
