Nicolas Colsaerts said an emotional farewell to the Home of Golf on Sunday as he capped off his 500th event with a birdie ahead of his upcoming retirement from professional golf.
An outstanding albatross and a second place finish at last year's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship meant Colsaerts earned his playing rights for this season and could say goodbye to his life as a professional golfer on his own terms at the end of the 2025 season.
“I'm pretty at peace,” he said earlier in the week. “I'm pretty at peace because it's something that I've been thinking about for a few years. It's not a decision that I took overnight.
“When you play on Tour for 25 years and you have the chance to celebrate a milestone like this at the Home of Golf, I think anyone would feel quite grateful."
For him, that meant one final Alfred Dunhill Links Championship ahead of his retirement at the end of the 2025 season, and he was visibly emotional as he walked up the 18th fairway of The Old Course, St Andrews for a final time and could be heard saying "this is a special walk".
With a raft of career highlights that include three victories and being part of the victorious 2012 European Ryder Cup side at Medinah, Colsaert's goodbye to the home of golf was a special one.
One under for his day on the 18th tee, Colsaerts who drove through the green of the final par-four and had a straightforward up and down for birdie to cap off a final round two-under-par 70.
At the start of the week he was presented with a plaque on the fairway at Kingsbarns, where he holed a brilliant albatross with a 6-iron during the third round, and at the end there was another presentation - this time a customary silver salver to celebrate his 500th event on the DP World Tour.
Afterwards, the Belgian was also given a framed record with his nickname 'The Dude', which was a gift organised by friend and fellow DP World Tour player Marcel Siem.
