Some strange weeks in Spain

Almost two weeks ago I traveled to Spain to play in two Gecko Tour tournaments and The Alps Tour Qualifying School. After a very busy period at IJsselweide, organising Friendsdays and other sponsor activities I was very much looking forward to two weeks of playing golf again!

I arrived in Alcaidesa (San Roque) having a cold. And with the torrential rain that fell in the South of Spain both tournaments were cancelled. It was disappointing, but considering how I was feeling maybe not that bad after all!

After a week of resting and doing nothing, I felt a bit better and played a few rounds on La Canada, Calanova and a practice round at La Cala, the venue for The Alps Tour Q-School. My form was good and my game felt pretty solid.  

The day of the first round I woke up feeling very weak and with a major headache. For people familiar with la Cala,  it's a course most people can only play with a buggy. But we as professionals need to walk during tournaments. After a few holes already, it was clear to me it had absolutely no sense to play golf in this condition so after the round I withdrew from the tournament. I spend the next few days in bed with the flue and I flew back to The Hague yesterday. So instead of playing 4 tournaments I played 0!

View at La Cala

 

 

 

Trying to practice at Alcaidesa Golf Resort during the torrential rain!

Drive at Calanova Golf

Twente Cup 4th place

Last weekend I finally had a tournament where my game was pretty solid for the whole 36 holes. In the first round at The Twentsche Golfclub I had a good backnine to finish on a 70 (-2) to be in contention during the final round and still have a chance for the last KLM Open wildcard.
The second and last round, in very windy conditions, I played pretty good. I gave myself a lot of birdie chances but unfortunately only converted three for a 71 (-1)

With 70-71 (-3) I finished fourth. That wasn't good enough to qualify but I am happy with this good result and the progress! :-)

2016 European Tour Qualifying School entry

Yesterday I have decided to enter this years Qualifying School. The last time I played  the Q-school was in 2013.

The tournament will be played in october, you can see my course preferences on my application form. I would really like to play the first stage at Frilford Heath, as I heard many good things about this course.

From now on, I'm aiming to play as many tournaments as possible in order to be well prepared for October. Also there are still two qualification tournaments for the KLM Open left: The Dutch Futures (15-16 August) and The Twente Cup (3-4 September). It would be great to qualify for the biggest tournament in Holland again!

But first I will play the Benelux PGA Trophy next Wednesday and Thursday on the beautiful course of Houthalen in Belgium! Looking foward to that as well!

See you soon!

Monday Tour Naarderbos and Dutch PGA Championship

72 72 72 those were my scores. It's not bad, but not good enough!

On the Monday Tour I finished T2nd. I made 6 birdies what's good, but unfortunately too many mistakes.

At the 36 holes Dutch PGA Championship where the winner gets a wildcard for the KLM Open my game was decent, but I did not manage to make a better score! I had a lot of chances for birdies that I didn't convert and it felt like every mistake resulted in a bogey. I finished the tournament in 16th place.

I just need to keep hitting good shots and give myself chances for birdies and in the end it will result in good finishes.

Par 3 14th at ZL Golf

See you soon.....

Renocar Czech PGA Austerlitz and Lauswolt Open

Renocar Czech PGA Austerlitz and Lauswolt Open

Last week I played two tournaments. One in the Czech Republic and one in Friesland (Netherlands).

In cold and windy Brno we played on Golf Resort Austerlitz. I started pretty good. I was -2 after nine holes, but unfortunately lost my game completely after the turn, resulting in six bogeys in a row and a score of 76. During the second round my first nine was ok again (level) and after the turn I lost too many shots again.

I finished in 29th place what was a bit dissapointing.

The Lauswolt Open that we played on a beautiful golfcourse last weekend was luckily much better. My game from tee to green was decent and my putting ok. Only a few bad decisions and a few bad chips were standing in the way of competing for the win. With a total of +2 I finished in 8th place. I was satisfied with my performance! 

Bilderberg Landgoed Lauswolt

Bilderberg Landgoed Lauswolt

See you soon.....

Another fun friends day

Last friday we played on Golfclub Liemeer, just south of Amsterdam. With a field of 22 players it was another great 9 holes event. We played the backnine of Liemeer that played pretty tough with the chilly wind. But with 19 points Dave Willemse still managed to beat the course and the elements :-) 

After the round we had a nice diner. A big thanks to Golfclub Liemeer and Arie from the catering for the good care.


The next friends day will probably be organised in July or August! 

See you soon.....

3 weeks of training in Florida

21 of March I travelled to Florida in order to prepare myself for the upcoming season. The first 1,5 week, I combined good training sessions with several Minorleague Tour events in West Palm Beach. The second 1,5 weeks, I spend in Orlando.

Overall, the weather was great, between 25-30 degrees and I got to work on some good things. I will definitely go back as I think Florida is ideal for your season preparation and I’m  really looking forward to the season now.

See you soon!

Algarve Pro Golf Tour

teeshot on the first at Quinta de Cima Classic

Last week I was in The Algarve to play three tournaments on the Algarve Pro Golf Tour. The first tournament was held at Quinta de Cima a course I really like. It was unfortunate that there was so much wind it was almost unplayable. The second course we played on was Castro Marim. At first I was shocked by the golfcourse, but as the week progressed I started to like the place!

My game was a bit rusty the first tournament at Quinta de Cima. I ended up making 83-77 what looks like a terrible score. But under very challenging conditions I still finished 37th! On the second tournament at Castro Marim it was still stormy during the first round. 

having diner in Altura

My game was a little bit better but I couldn't get back from the bad start I had (+6 thrue 4) I ended up making 77-72 to finish in 35th place. The last tournament, also played on Castro Marim, I started with a decent 72. But my last round of the trip was the best. With a final round 68 I finished tied 9th (72-68) on a total of -4.

All in all it has been a very good tournament series in the Algarve. Lots of birdies and solid putting. all the hard work in the off season is beginning to show. Back in Holland now until the 21st and then off to Miami to play a number of tournaments of the South Florida Tour. 

  See you soon!

 practice green at Castro Marim

PGAE Fourballs Championship

Every February I play the Four Balls Championship at Lumine Golf in Salou with my brother.
A friendly tournament played on two good courses. This year they had a record number of entries of 115 pair. A few days before the tournament started I flew to Barcelona to train for a number of days. Also played El Prat for the first time. What a course!

The first round of the tournament at The Hills course we started very silly with a bogey, but the remaining seventeen holes we played were okay and with a 69 we were one stroke off the cut line. The second round at The Lakes course we had a great start. With birdies on holes two, three and four we were at -6 for the tournament. But a downpour and a few missed short putts for par by me spoiled our good start. Eventually we did make seven birdies but unfortunately also four bogeys in the round. Therefore we ended up with a three under par 68.

With 69-68 (-6) we unfortunately came two strokes short of making the cut, which stood at a whopping -8! (Only 40 of the 115 pair made the cut). All in all a great week where I could work on my game.

My next stop is the Algarve where I fly to on March 3rd to play 3 tournaments on the Algarve Pro Tour! See you soon...

The new Footjoy clothing has arrived!

It's always exciting to get my new apparel at the beginning of the year. I wear it almost every day! For years I am playing with Footjoy apparel, I am very happy with their polo's and sweaters and very grateful for their support!

Now to the embroiderer to get my sponsor logos on them! :-)