The DP World Tour returns to the Netherlands this week as Bernardus Golf plays host to the historic Dutch Open. Here are your five things to know.
Broberg defends
Kristoffer Broberg was unable to hold back the tears in September when he won his second DP World Tour title at the 2021 Dutch Open.
Holding an eight-shot lead heading into the final round, the Swede held off the chasing pack as a closing level par 72 saw him finish three shots clear of Matti Schmid in the inaugural edition of the historic event held at Bernardus Golf.
Broberg, who saw his overnight lead cut in half at the turn, extended his advantage to five shots with a birdie at the tenth but he was in danger of squandering his lead altogether when he took a penalty drop at the par-five 12th before he chipped in from beside a greenside bunker for a miraculous bogey.
Despite a further bogey at the 14th, Broberg, who hadn’t won since the BMW Masters in 2015, recovered his composure to make a nerveless birdie at the 17th and par three of his closing four holes to return to the winner’s circle.
This week, he will make his first appearance on the Tour since he withdrew from the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March due to a reoccurrence of injury troubles that have impacted over the last six years.
Major places on offer
For the first time, the Dutch Open is included as a tournament on The Open Qualifying Series for 2022.
The tournament will offer three places in The 150th Open at St Andrews for the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) finishing in the top ten and ties.
It is also the third of the four-event European Qualifying Series, with players continuing to vie for one of the ten spots available for the U.S. Open.
Last year, the Dutch Open was held in the week prior to the Ryder Cup so this marks the first occasion since the mini-series was introduced in 2020 after traditional U.S. Open sectional qualifying events were cancelled due to the upheaval in the global golf calendar due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The top ten aggregate DP World Tour Rankings points earners (not otherwise exempt) from the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, the Soudal Open, this week’s event and the Porsche European Open (June 2-5) will secure their places in the field at The Country Club, Brookline next month.
Thorbjørn Olesen and Sam Horsfield, winners of the first two events in the mini-series lead the current standings, with the other eight players in the top ten all in the field this week.
Luiten, Besseling flying home flag
Since the first edition of the Dutch Open in 1912, there have been 76 winners from 18 different countries.
Of those, six are home winners including Joost Luiten who won the event twice between 2013 and 2016 at two different courses.
With a host of Dutch players looking to follow in his footsteps, including Wil Besseling and Darius Van Driel, the home crowds will have plenty to root for during the week.
Besseling arrives at Bernardus Golf in good form on the back of a top ten and two top 25s in three of his last five starts on Tour, while Van Driel and his countryman are regular visitors to the facilities for their training.
Beat the Pro
An exciting feature during the Dutch Open is ‘Beat the Pro’, which will again take place at the 160-yard par-three eighth hole at Bernardus Golf across all four tournament days.
The concept was launched on the DP World Tour in 2016 and gives amateurs the chance to beat the Tour professionals in a nearest the pin challenge.
As in previous years, the hole will count for the Tour players as part of their tournament score and the initiative has player and fan interaction at its heart.
Javier Ballesteros takes place in field
Among the international field this week is tournament invitee Javier Ballesteros, the eldest son of five-time Major champion Severiano Ballesteros.
This year marks the 46th anniversary of Seve Ballesteros’ maiden DP World Tour win at the 1976 Dutch Open. Ballesteros would go on to land 50 Tour wins, the most by any player to date.
Javier, who made his professional debut in 2014, has competed in several Tour events since, most recently in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters at Real Club Valderrama last year, and will make his third appearance in the Netherlands’ national Open.
