Tim Sluiter believes he needs to exercise patience if he is to claim a maiden Challenge Tour title, after a superb start to the season which has left him fourth in the Rankings heading into this week’s Telenet Trophy.
The Dutchman has enjoyed an extremely consistent start to the season, finishing tied fifth at the season-opening Gujarat Kensville Challenge before claiming a runner-up finish at the Barclays Kenya Open.
He continued in that vein of form to secure a top 20 at the lucrative Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI, leaving him in a very strong position in the Challenge Tour Rankings as the season begins to build momentum at Belgium this week.
Sluiter, who played two seasons on The European Tour after securing his card at 2011 Qualifying School, has been delighted with his form but believes he has not yet played to his full potential and hopes that his best is soon to come.
“I had a good first two events and making the cut in Madeira was nice too so it’s been a good start but there is a long way to go,” said the 24 year old.
“Even in the first two events I wasn’t feeling great about my game but I've still felt confident. My game is not where I want it to be yet but it will be.
“I have to be patient I guess. In Italy and Madrid I was probably a little bit impatient and you saw the result of that, a bad second round to miss the cut in Italy and a bad final round in Madrid.
“I am waiting for that win but you can’t force it, you need to be patient and wait for it to happen.”
“Hopefully I can get some momentum now going into the busy part of the season. You need to take weeks off and I'm really happy to have a good schedule and be able to plan ahead.
“I haven’t been able to plan ahead in the last two years on The European Tour with my category so it’s the best thing for me at the moment, being able to plan ahead and have the time to be patient. It’s easier to be patient when you know what’s coming.”
Sluiter, whose home town of Enschede is just a three-hour drive from Royal Waterloo Golf Club, is looking forward to taking on the home course of Nicolas Colsaerts, especially given the fact that he will have friends and family in attendance later in the week.
“It’s lovely to be able to drive to Belgium,” he said. “It’s nice and close to home and some of my family and friends will come during the week so I'm looking forward to almost playing on home soil.”
All four of the winners in regular Challenge Tour events this season, with Shiv Kapur, winner of the season-opening Gujarat Kensville Challenge, playing his first event since winning back in January.
Also present are Barclays Kenya Open champion Jordi Garcia Pinto, Challenge de España winner François Calmels – a former Telenet Trophy champion - and Brooks Koepka, who claimed his second Challenge Tour title at the Montecchia Golf Open presented by POLAROID.
Former European Tour winners in the field include Nick Dougherty, Raymond Russell and Daniel Vancsik, while the 2012 Amateur Open Champion Alan Dunbar of Northern Ireland is also competing.
