This Thursday marks the start of the Soudal Open at the Rinkven International Golf Club in Antwerp. It is the nineteenth visit of the DP World Tour to Belgium. The first took place in 1978 with a victory by Australian Noel Ratcliffe. Since then, Lee Westwood has been the only player able to win this event twice, something that only four players could match this week: Simon Forsstrom, Guido Migliozzi, Nacho Elvira, and Adrián Otaegui.
Spanish golf has indeed enjoyed notable success on Belgian soil. We have achieved four victories with four different golfers in the tournaments held in Belgium under the DP World Tour umbrella. The first to win was José María Olazábal in 1988, at just 22 years old, the second was Miguel Ángel Jiménez in 1992, Adrián Otaegui did it in 2018, and the latest was Nacho Elvira just a year ago. The Cantabrian is, therefore, the defending champion. Interestingly, this is one of the few DP World Tour tournaments that Seve Ballesteros did not win, although he came close, of course. He finished twice among the top four.
Only England has accumulated more victories than Spain in Belgium in the DP World Tour era. They have five, two by Westwood, Horsfield, Gordon Brand Jr., and Nick Faldo. Thus, the Armada has a good mission this week: to tie with England in the historical record of victories. Sweden could also do it, with four winners in these parts: Forsstrom, Robert Karlsson, Per Ulrik Johansson, and Ove Sellberg.
In something where even Spain could take the lead alone, it would be in the number of different winners. For this, the possibilities are great. Besides Nacho Elvira, who, as already mentioned, defends the title this week and obviously would not count in this chapter, there are twelve Spaniards who could win for the first time in Belgium: Manu Elvira, Jorge Campillo, Joel Moscatel, Alex del Rey, Ángel Ayora, Sebas García Rodríguez, Pablo Larrazábal, Alfredo García Heredia, Eugenio Chacarra, Iván Cantero, Ángel Hidalgo, and Rafa Cabrera Bello.
Of course, Sweden and England also have that possibility. It’s the battle of the five-card hand. The English forces are the most numerous. Indeed, they have 25 players in Belgium who could win for the first time. Meanwhile, the Swedish ‘army’ consists of eight men, beyond Forsstrom who would not count for this objective because he has already been a winner. An extra incentive for the week.
The Rinkven International opened its doors in 1981, born from the enthusiasm and conviction of a handful of golfers. A course in Antwerp had closed its doors years earlier, leaving all its members without a club. A group of them came together to seek new land, and thus the course was built, which is now among the best in the country.
It is a very technical layout full of obstacles, especially trees. Initially, it is not a paradise for big hitters, quite the opposite, although we know what happens in these situations… If a big hitter has their week and hits the fairway, they will obviously have more options than those who do not hit as far. The best news is that the course is drier and firmer than a year ago. If the wind blows, it could be a very interesting test, at least more demanding than in previous years.
