Belgium did indeed win the World Cup in 2018. In golf. In a two-player team formula.
The team aligned? On the one hand: Thomas, born in January, turned professional after notably an excellent amateur course at the University of Illinois, renowned for his training of future golf champions. Revealed to the great day of golf enthusiasts in 2016, with a first victory on the European tour, a 4th place at the prestigious Masters and a 4th place at the… Olympic Games in Rio. This is Thomas Pieters, 29-year-old Antwerp native.
On the other side of the green: Thomas, born in January, turned professional after notably an excellent amateur course at the University of Illinois (you know, famous for his training of future golf champions). Revealed in 2016, too. After a victory with 12 strokes in advance, historic record on the Challenge tour, the 2nd European professional division, in his first pro season. This is Thomas Detry, the 28-year-old Brussels resident.
Thomas and Thomas are linked. Friendship first, since the time they meet on the fairways of Belgium first, then around the world. Two great talents who united their skills to lift the World Cup in a competition where their complementarity had worked wonders.
They are going to represent their country again tomorrow. Together, but separately, because the formula is this time individual. No question of relying on the friend to compensate for a bad blow.
But the hope of a Belgian medal is real. Ask Pieters, who failed at the foot of the podium when golf returned to the Olympics in Rio after a 112-year absence. Hope is allowed because they have the potential to mingle with the best. Pieters is the man of great hits: top 5 at the Olympics, in a major tournament and in a World Cup round (the equivalent of the Masters 1000 in tennis). And how can we forget his exceptional Ryder Cup in 2016, when he had released the best performance ever achieved by a beginner in this legendary competition between the best players from the USA and Europe.
Detry is the champion of consistency. It has multiplied the places in the top 10 for 4 years: 24! Nobody did better than him on the European tour… without winning. The statistics are cruel for this solid player who therefore revolves around his first victory without succeeding in concluding. Three weeks ago, he even failed in the playoff, after finishing tied for the lead after the traditional 72 holes. It was during the Scottish Open, surrounded by some of the best players on the planet.
But a second or third place – to which he is therefore a subscriber – in Tokyo, would give him a medal. The opponents will be formidable, the level undoubtedly a little higher than in Rio, despite the packages for COVID of Rahm and DeChambeau. But here the field of players is limited to 60, with a limited number of players per country, as in all other sports at the Olympics. Usually, there are almost 150 each week at the start line. So this statistically increases the chances of shining. In a sport where, in a good week, the 200th world has nothing to fear from number 1. Here are the two Thomases facing their Olympic destiny. In a joint report, just after Rio 2016, to the question “what is your dream?”, They both answered “ become world number one “. After a few seconds of silence, Pieters added” and win an Olympic medal “. There are two Thomas. And three steps on the podium.
