Dutch embrace young Belgian as their new Champion
The golf fans that had gathered eagerly around the 18th green at the Kennemer Golf & Country Club on Sunday were denied the thrill of a play-off for the KLM Open title when Lee Slattery’s putt for par agonisingly failed to drop. Bogey for the Englishman, who had graced the fairways in Holland all week with his style and stunning golf (66-65-63-68), left Thomas Pieters from Belgium as the new Dutch Open Champion.
Only minutes earlier, Pieters had signed for a final round of 65 (5-under for the day) to become the new leader in the clubhouse at 19-under par (68-66-62-65). All he could do now was sit and wait in front of the television, eat a banana, and prepare himself for maybe a few extra holes.
Lee Slattery, with one hole to play, was also on 19-under, so a play-off really looked on the cards. Back to back wins was a strong possibility for both players. These guys were hot after their recent victories: Slattery in Russia the week before and Pieters in the Czech Republic the week before that.
Camera crews, photographers and journalists all crammed into the tiny room near the scorer’s area to witness Lee Slattery’s final hole on the tv screen and record the Belgian’s reaction. Many believed there would be another exciting play-off just as in 2013 when home favourite, Joost Luiten fought off the Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez to lift his first Dutch Open title. But it was to be Pieters’ lucky day. A missed four-footer by Slattery at the last gave Thomas his second title in a matter of weeks.
Victory for the 23-year old from Antwerp could well mark the start of a new era of Belgian dominance in the Dutch Open. It was nearly 80 years ago that Flory van Donck won his first in a flourish of five championship titles.
Wendy Hoad
Photography by Golfing Inspirations.
More KLM Open posts, pics and interviews coming up over the next few days …