Darius Van Driel News & More

GOLF Golfer

4yNetherlands’ Darius Van Driel carded a bogey-free, 3-under 69 in the final round of the Dutch Open to finish at 15-under 273, tied for fourth place with Germany’s Thomas Detry and finishing as low Dutchman in the field.

The 32-year-old Van Driel, a two-time winner on the Challenge Tour, posted his fith top-10 finish of the season and his first since July at the ISPS Handa World Invitational. On the season, he’s made 14 cuts in 20 starts with his best finish coming at the Porsche European Open in June. It was just the second career runner-up result for Van Driel, who is still chasing his maiden European Tour victory. After opening with an even-par 72 at at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, Netherlands, rebounded with back-to-back rounds of 66 and made just one bogey each day. Van Driel will next play at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship the week after the Ryder Cup, where he’ll make his tournament debut.

Darius Van Driel

GOLF Golfer

4yNetherlands’ Darius Van Driel rides a wave of four straight made cuts in European Tour action into his second start at the Hero Open and arrives at St. Andrews off a T-7 finish at the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

The 32-year-old Van Driel, who stands at No. 294 in the world rankings, sandwiched two rounds of 5-under 65 between opening and closing rounds of even-par 70 to finish at 10-under 270 in Northern Ireland, three shots behind winner Daniel Gavins. It marked the fourth top-10 result this season for Van Driel, whose best finish was a T-2 at the Porsche European Open in June. He posted solid stats on the week, ranking ninth in the field in driving distance (291.5) and seventh in greens in regulation (66.7). On the season, Van Driel has made 11 cuts in 15 starts and has surpassed his pace from 2020, where he went 10-for-19. He earned his spot in the field this week in Scotland by virtue of finishing in the top 15 in the 2019 Challenge Tour rankings (No. 13).

Darius Van Driel

GOLF Golfer

5yDarius Van Driel tees it up in this week’s Saudi International at Royal Greens G&CC.

A winner on the Alps Tour in 2015, the Dutch golfer has since played on the Challenge Tour with mixed results. He was a winner in 2018, but it was still something of a surprise when he took advantage of a rare European Tour start to finish second in the Belgian Knockout last June. He earned a tour card via 13th spot in the Challenge Tour rankings thanks to another win on the second tier and improved consistency. However this is only his second start of the season after he crashed out of the Alfred Dunhill Championship with scores of 76-77.

Darius Van Driel

GOLF Golfer

6yOn his 30th birthday Darius Van Driel claimed second place in the Belgian Knockout at Rinkven International GC in Antwerp.

What a week for the Dutchman who not only had a benchmark life moment but also had his girlfriend on the bag. He had qualified for the weekend with an 8-under par total that left him T5 in the stroke play and he swept through the Saturday matches with two 3-under totals and one of level-par. On Sunday he defeated Matthew Southgate with a 2-under score and Gregory Havret with 1-under in the semi final. But he ran out of gas in the final, managing only 1-over and being downed by Guido Migliozzi’s 3-under. Just a seventh European Tour start but his second top six finish (after T6 in the 2016 Australian PGA Championship).

Darius Van Driel

GOLF Golfer

6yDarius Van Driel sprinkled eight birdies on his card in round two of the Belgian Knockout at Rinkven International GC, completing a 6-under-par 34-31=65 to finish at 8-under 134, good enough for tied third spot at the end of the regular 36-hole strokeplay section.

The Dutchman’s afternoon lap put him four back from Chris Paisley and secured one of the higher seedings for the weekend. The advantage is minimal but the top 16 will progress if they tie their opening nine-hole knockout medal match play clash on Saturday. Today, Van Driel didn’t birdie either of the two par 5s but did splash red at 1, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 18. He dropped shots at 3 and 13. This is just his second start on the European Tour this season (79th in the Kenya Open his other). On the Challenge Tour, he has been in good form though, finishing tied third at the Turkish Airlines Challenge and adding T15 at last week’s Czech Challenge.

Darius Van Driel

GOLF Golfer

7yPlaying in the penultimate group of the delayed first round, Darius Van Driel posted a 6-under-par 32-35=67 in his opener at the Open de Portugal.

That’s T4 in the clubhouse and four strokes behind pacesetter Matt Wallace. Van Driel, who played a full season on the Challenge Tour last year, didn’t see any action at Morgado G&CC yesterday due to t-storms but was quickly into his stride when he finally got going Friday. The Dutchman ticked his opening hole, the 10th, added a par at 11 and collected back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13. The forward thrust continued with a pair of red numbers at 16 and 17 before he quietened with a run seven pars and birdie at 4. Van Driel dropped a shot at 8 but made up for it with a walk-off birdie at 9 to finish inside the top 5. After a quick bite to eat, he’ll be heading out for his second round shortly. The 27-year-old was T6 in the Australian PGA Championship in November so is in position to match or beat that after his strong opener.