After spending a day enjoying everything Nairobi has to offer by heading out on safari, Dutchman Daan Huizing is excited to get his season off and running at the Barclays Kenya Open this week.
The 24 year old burst onto the European Challenge Tour halfway through 2013 when he posted a runner-up finish at the Karnten Golf Open presented by Mazda in only his third start on the circuit, and he did not stop there.
He proceeded to follow that up with a series of top five finishes to move quickly into contention for a place amongst the top 15 who would earn their place in The Race to Dubai the following year, before cementing that position with consecutive victories to round out the summer.
First up, the Northern Ireland Open Challenge, where he triumphed over former Ryder Cup star Oliver Wilson in a play-off after a nervy final day for Huizing that started with him six strokes clear of the field.
The confidence he took from holding on for victory that week, however, proved just the fillip as he went on to do exactly the same a fortnight later at the Kharkov Superior Cup, this time carving out a two stroke victory in the Ukraine en route to finishing sixth on the season-long Rankings.
Huizing scaled his way to the top of the leaderboard en route to two Challenge Tour titles in 2013
Cue an invite to dine at golf's top table, and despite a best finish of a tie for 12th in both Russia and at the Open de Espana in 2014, Huizing was unable to retain his card at the first time of asking thanks to a 136th place finish for the season.
Things are looking up for the former amateur star after a winter of hard work, however, and he is excited to get cracking ahead of an important season.
“I have had quite a good winter and started working with a new coach as well, so I have had to work on a few new things, which is always nice as it is feeling like I am becoming a better player again,” said Huizing, who won the Royal Lytham Trophy and the St Andrews Links Trophy in 2012 en route to second place in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
“For me it was good to have a bit of a break over the winter because my run in the 2014 season was not good, and I have had time to put the clubs away for a bit. I prefer to have that break, and now slowly it is heating up again.
Last year went by in such a rush, it really went so quickly, even though I played plenty of tournaments.
"I had a chance to sit down and work with my coaches in December though, as well as some time for other things. Then after Christmas I started working on everything with my team, and now I am starting to grow into it.
“Playing on The European Tour last year, you see what the competition is like, the depth and strength of it, but also that you don’t have to do anything extraordinary. You just have to be really solid. You also learn to settle down into that environment, so I want to get back as soon as possible because last year was still a blast.”
It has been a whirlwind rise through the ranks for Huizing over the past few years, and his progression even took him a little by surprise. Regardless, though, he has no plans to take his graduation come season’s end for granted, and will be working tirelessly to get back to the top of the game.
“I got to The European Tour a little sooner than perhaps I expected, which was a total bonus, and it was great to get a full year of experience out there and that can only benefit me for the future,” said Huizing, an Ajax fan.
“I’m really looking forward to this year though, as I think we are going to play a lot of good courses and have a lot of strong tournaments, as the Challenge Tour is getting stronger all the time. It is definitely a trap you can fall into, to underestimate it, and I am not going to let that happen to me.
“I want to win a tournament again as that is what you play for at the end of the day, and then obviously to get back to The European Tour is the goal for everybody out here.”
Huizing showing off his safari adventures on Instagram (daan_huizing) ahead of the Barclays Kenya Open
As for the course at Karen Country Club, Huizing believes it will provide an interesting test, favouring accuracy over aggression. Regardless of the results going forward though, he will be sure to take in every opportunity afforded to him, as he realises there is more to life than just golf.
“The course this week is very nice,” he said. “It is tree lined and not too long, but the greens are testing and it has been raining a lot lately so it is a little softer than normal.
“I like it here though, it is a fun place. There is a good gym, some tennis, and I even went on a safari yesterday to try and experience some of the stuff we don’t have at home.
“The year is so long and any given week you have your game, and you’re not going to change it too much at a tournament. I flew in on Sunday and have had plenty of time to acclimatise, and the safari was great fun yesterday. I didn’t even touch a club.”
