Joost Luiten is looking to rediscover his early season form when he tees it up on home soil at the KLM Open this week.
The Dutchman made a brilliant start to the season, securing six top tens in his first nine events, including runner-up finishes at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation and the Shenzhen International.
He has been in the top ten a further two times this season but it is European Tour win number five he is seeking, at an event he won in 2013.
"My game is okay, but not as good as the first part of this season," he said. "The first part of the season was really good and hopefully we can find that form from the beginning of the year.
"We’ve been practising a lot to get it there and hopefully on Thursday we can show some good golf.
"This tournament has had some great winners. We’ve had a lot of big names winning this tournament and my name is on the trophy already, so I’m very happy with that, but it’s even more special if you can put your name on it for a second time."
Luiten's last European Tour appearance was at the Olympic Men's Golf Competition where he finished in a tie for 27th while representing his country.
The first part of the season was really good and hopefully we can find that form from the beginning of the year - Joost Luiten
The eyes of a nation will be on him once again this week, but the 30 year old insists he does not feel any greater pressure competing on home soil and thrives off the partisan crowds.
"There’s always pressure," he said. "As a golfer you want to go out and win the tournament and that’s the mindset you’ve got to have every week. That’s the mindset that I’ve got this week and of course there’s a lot more going on around me, but that’s just part of the job.
"Once we start on Thursday, you don’t think about all those things. You just want to be ready and excited to go.
"The Dutch fans want to get involved and see it up close. We only have one event a year, so when there’s a tournament like this the Dutch fans love to come out and watch it.
"I try to react and feed off the crowd. I’ve had some great finishes here, so hopefully I can feed off them. This is what you work for and why you want to be a professional golfer, so that people want to come out and watch."
European Tour Destination The Dutch will host its first Tour event this week and Luiten believes the players are in for a tough test off the tee.
"The course has been open for five years and the conditions are the best in Holland all year round," he said. "They didn’t have to do a lot to prepare for this tournament, because this is just how the course is all year.
"It’s a pretty open golf course, but you’ve got to be straight off the tee, because there are a lot of mounds around that will make it very tough.
"There’s quite a bit of water on the golf course as well, so you’ve got to be straight. At the end of the day we’re in Holland, so you need some water! I think it will be a good test, especially if the wind is up."
