Tournament host Thomas Pieters can prepare for this year's Belgian Knockout without the nerves he experienced in the inaugural edition 12 months ago.
The European Tour returns to Rinkven International Golf Club this week for the innovative tournament, which is again being hosted by Pieters and his family.
Players will compete over the first two days in stroke play before the top 64 will do battle in nine-hole stroke play knockout over the weekend, with the last eight, semi-finals and final all played on Sunday.
And after the success of last year, ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf champion Pieters is eager to get going.
He said: "I was a bit nervous last year having the tournament here. I was nervous at the reaction of the other players for the course and the organisation because it is mine and my family’s reputation, but the reaction was so positive.
"Everyone loved the course, it’s different, it’s in good condition and the fans and volunteers were great, so I couldn’t have been prouder last year and it looks like it is going to be even better this year.
“I'm very positive about the future of the tournament. I see everything that comes with running a golf tournament and it is certainly not easy, so I appreciate everything a lot more and we did a good job last year with the amount of people that came, so I am just super happy with the event.”
Nicolas Colsaerts, two-time European Tour winner and member of Europe's Ryder Cup victory at Medinah in 2012, reached the quarter-finals last year and could benefit from the format once again as he looks for some weekend success.
He said: “I feel like I am playing really well. I missed my first cut last week since the British Masters last year. I haven’t really had great Saturdays, which is usually the round that puts you into a good position to have a good week, but apart from that I am playing pretty well.
"The great thing is that anything can happen." - Thomas Detry
“There was a lot of success that came out of last year’s event. The innovative format for one, it was nice to do something different, and I think the choice of the format was spot on. I was quite happy that I played well on Saturday and I exited the tournament a bit early on Sunday morning, but I was quite proud of the way I played last year."
Thomas Detry partnered Pieters to win World Cup gold for Belgium last year and they will both be looking to dethrone Adrián Otaegui as champion in Antwerp.
Detry is hoping to have more fortune this year should he once again make it through to the weekend.
He said: “I got a bit unlucky last year. I was playing well in the stroke play and then lost on Saturday morning, but the great thing is that anything can happen. You can make the cut on the number and get a little bit of momentum on the weekend, then you never really know. So it’s fun and this week could be a game changer in the season.
"My game feels good. The three of us and the rest of the Belgian players are excited to play this week and it’s always an amazing experience to play in front of friends and family."
