Two weeks after winning his maiden European Tour title Thomas Pieters booked his spot in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai with a one-stroke victory over Eduardo De La Riva and Lee Slattery in the KLM Open at Kennemer Golf & Country Club.
The 23 year old Belgian is enjoying a stellar second season on The European Tour and having begun his campaign with top ten finishes in South Africa and Abu Dhabi, victory in his last outing at the D+D Czech Masters in Prague saw him move into the all-important top 60 in The Race to Dubai.
But he still had some work to do to guarantee his place in the prestigious season-ending grand finale, taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November, and he sealed the deal after claiming €300,000 for his win in Holland to move to 28th in the rankings with 747,766 points.
“I’m really, really happy,” said Pieters. “I felt I played better in the Czech Republic, but my short game was great this week and saved me many times.”
Englishman Slattery, a winner at the M2M Russian Open last week, came agonisingly close to forcing a play-off but missed a four-foot putt at the last. However, his joint runner-up finish earned him €156,340 and saw him move into The Race to Dubai’s top 60 to 47th place with 483,922 points and just a whisker away from ensuring that he’ll be joining Pieters in the DP World Tour Championship field.
“It sets everything up now for the end of the year,” said Slattery, who will surely book his ticket to Dubai if his current rich vein of form continues. “I can start preparing for the bigger events at the end of the season. I’ve got a good feeling inside and I’ll be comforted by my family at home – we’ve got a big celebration next week for the win in Russia. A lot of good things have happened these last two weeks and I’ve just got to enjoy it.”
The Race to Dubai’s top ten remains unaltered with Rory McIlroy (3,011,999 points) still leading the way from Danny Willett (2,648,804 points).
The DP World Tour Championship gets underway on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in just under three months. General admission is free of charge and can be obtained by registering online atwww.DPWorldTourChampionship.com. Those who register will also be placed into a prize draw with the chance to win a VIP Hospitality package for the Championship Chalet.
