Robbie van Erven Dorens, the former Dutch Open promoter, has passed away at the age of 83.
Van Erven Dorens took over running the tournament in 1980 from the Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) and the following year announced KLM as the first title sponsor of the event.
Though his hard work and dedication over the course of 25 years, he helped bring some of the world’s leading players to the Netherlands, resulting in multiple wins for European legends such as the late, great Seve Ballesteros and Major Champion Bernhard Langer.
When Van Erven Dorens retired from the KLM Open in 2006, the Robbie Van Erven Dorens Trophy was created on behalf of the NGF and is awarded annually to the best amateur at the KLM Open, a fitting tribute to the man who was a golfer at heart.
From 1956 to 1970, Van Erven Dorens represented his country in both youth teams and amateur teams, with which he also became Dutch Amateur Champion. After his active playing career, he devoted himself to supporting golfers coming through the ranks and for many years was non-playing captain of the Dutch Amateur Team, guiding his team to the bronze medal in the European National Team Championship.
