Tim Sluiter returns to the venue where he came closest to winning a maiden European Challenge Tour title as the season tees off at the Barclays Kenya Open in Karen Country Club, Nairobi, this week.
The Dutchman finished runner-up in last year’s event after missing an eagle putt at the final hole which would have earned him a play-off battle with eventual winner Jordi Garcia Pinto.
Nevertheless, it was the 24 year old’s best finish of a season in which he missed out on graduation to The European Tour, finishing 31st in the Rankings, and he is looking forward to getting going again, especially at a venue where he has played so well before.
“It’s definitely nice to be back and the course is in great condition at the moment,” said the man from Enschede, who played on The European Tour in 2010 after gaining a card through Qualifying School. “I really like it here and the people I'm staying with are great so I love the atmosphere. I'm looking forward to getting started again.
“I'm not sure where my game is at the moment. I'm working on some stuff and I need to get going and see where I am. I haven’t played any competitive golf at all since November last year. I don’t have any expectations this week but hopefully I can do well.
“I took a lot of time off and worked a lot on my game and on my technique so we’ll see how it goes, I'm really looking forward to the season.
“Of course I was disappointed not to finish in the top 15 last year so I guess I wasn’t ready. What I took from it was that my game needed work and I want to go for it again.”
Sluiter is joined by countrymen Wil Besseling, Robin Kind and former European Tour winner Maarten Lafaber.
