The Rise of Belgian Golf – Thomas Pieters & Thomas Detry
All Square 3min read •
15 Sep 2016
In recent years Belgium has had a fair amount of sporting success. They have one of the best football teams in the world and, in Nicolas Colsaerts, one of the best golfers in the world. Today we want to draw your attention to the promising duo that are making sure that Belgium stays on the map as a fine golfing nation.
Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry share much more than just a first name, and are both making waves in golf. Close friends and former teammates at the University of Illinois, these guys have worked their way through the NCAA system but made their way back to Europe to play their skills.
Numbers don’t lie and the stats that these guys have posted this year make for very impressive reading! Pieters has gotten himself to number 13 on the Race to Dubai standings with an average driving distance of over 301 yards, average putts per round of 29.31 after making just over 68% of greens in regulation. Clearly this is a golf game with few weaknesses and one that has taken him to number 39 in the world.
Detry, has an equally impressive set of stats for his 2016 season including a lowest score of 60 and a hugely impressive 76% greens in regulation. He is currently 14th in the Road to Oman and with his putting average of 29.75 he is surely going to add to his one victory this year.
Pieters, a European Tour player who will soon make his Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine National, took his third victory on Europe’s premier tour with an incredibly impressive win at the Made in Denmark at Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort at the end of August. His performance here coupled with a strong 2016 season left Darren Clarke little choice but to include him in his twelve-man team. With previous appearances at the Olympic Games, The Palmer Cup, The Eisenhower Trophy and The Jacques Leglise Trophy, Pieters is no stranger to team events and is sure to be a key asset to Team Europe.
His compatriot, Thomas Detry, has a similar list of team events under his belts and could very well feature in a future Ryder Cup should he continue on the path he is on. Having turned pro after graduating from the University of Illinois, Detry sealed his first professional victory on the Challenge Tour during his maiden season. Coincidentally both Pieters and Detry won on the 28th of August this year, Pieters in Denmark as stated and Detry in England at Heythrop Park Resort at The Bridgestone Challenge. It is certainly worth noting that his win at The Bridgestone Challenge equalled the lowest ever recorded 72-hole total on The Challenge Tour, set by Ivó Giner in 2003, at an astounding 29 under!
Thomas Detry had a glittering junior and amateur career and has an incredible future ahead of him. It is also very worth noting that in the build-up to his win at the Bridgestone Challenge, Detry made his first ten cuts in a row on The Challenge Tour! He is an incredible prospect.
At 24 and 23, Pieters and Detry, respectively, are golfers with an immense amount of potential. With the highly impressive golfing resumes that these guys possess it is clear to see that Pieters has great potential to shine at the Ryder Cup and that Detry should one day follow in his friend’s footsteps yet again. Our sport needs young aspirational figures like these guys and they will, no doubt, help drive yet more great golfers from Belgium.
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