Former Ryder Cup star Nicolas Colsaerts has been handling his DP World Tour farewell with aplomb, soaking in everything that comes with a swansong after choosing this week’s Soudal Open in his native Belgium, his 505th start on the European circuit, to officially wave goodbye.
Colsaerts, 43, looked ice cool in the opening round at Rinkven International G.C. in Antwerp, wearing a Royal Melbourne hat—a nod to his Australian wife Rachel’s heritage—while carding a commendable one-over-par 72.
Then Friday morning arrived. A wave of emotions struck the likeable Brussels native with the velocity of one of his prodigious drives. With the 36-hole cut projected at two under, Colsaerts, now a full-time commentator on LIV Golf, was cognizant it could be his final round.
“Because [retirement] has been brewing for a couple of years, it had been OK until this morning,” Colsaerts told Golf Digest via phone before his second round. “If I don’t shoot 68, I might not play on the weekend. And having played 18 holes only three times this year, the odds are probably against me.
Not surprisingly under the circumstances, Colsaerts has become introspective about about his career—three wins, a Ryder Cup appearance in 2012, €10.7 million in career earnings, one of 50 players to reach 500 starts on the European Tour after his debut in 1998.
“I woke up this morning and you start to think of what your parents have allowed you to do; to live your dreams. You think of Rachel holding the fort at home and raising our two kids when I’m not at home. Her having to deal with all the paperwork that I’m incapable of doing. You can’t do this on your own.
“When you come from a street in the middle of Brussels, and you end up on the biggest stages of the game, idolized by kids and weekend golfers, [you realize] it’s been an absolute dream come true.”
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Aside from being a quick-witted, charismatic personality, Colsaerts won over a legion of fans with booming drives that earned him the nickname, “the Belgian bomber.”
“I’m so grateful,” Colsaerts said of golf in general, and the fans. “The faces along the way, wherever it is, are really heartwarming. [I] come from a small country, and so when we have somebody that shines at something, we kind of have a soft spot for them. And also because I’ve always tried to be genuine, I’ve never forgotten where I come from and I’m a proud Belgian. I think that’s why the reception this week has been really overwhelming.
“You realize you’ve made a mark on people. People have been following you and your career. You realize you’ve been a part of people’s lives, or at least the ones that are into golf.”
His career highlights added legitimacy to his popularity.
Colsaerts’ three DP World Tour wins came at the Volvo China Open, Volvo World Matchplay and the French Open. He finished T-7 at the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham and T-10 at the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.
Nicolas Colsaerts laughs with good friend Marcel Siem and the caddies in his pairing during the first round of the Soudal Open.
JONAS ROOSENS
He is perhaps better known for teaming up with Lee Westwood to defeat Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in their four-ball match at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah. Colsaerts pinpointed Europe’s “Miracle at Medinah” victory that week as his career highlight.
“The Ryder Cup, afterwards, not during, because you’re in the heat of battle and the eye of the cyclone and you don’t realize what’s happening,” Colsaerts said.“But afterwards, being recognized as somebody who has made an impression and who has a line on this CV that not a lot of people can brag about is something to be extremely proud of. [The European team] has these numbers for their Ryder Cup players like they did with the British [and Irish] Lions [in rugby], and I’m No. 147, which is a maximum break at snooker.”
Colsaerts got a first sip of the farewell tour last fall when he made his 500th DP World Tour appearance at the Alfred Dunhill Links event at St. Andrews. He enjoyed an emotional walk up the 18th at the Old Course with wife Rachel and their children. That goodbye tour also included the French Open, which he won in 2019, and competitive appearances in Australia and Mauritius.
But Colsaerts made sure, between commentary at LIV events, that the historic Belgian Open (first held in 1910) this week was the final leg of his globe-trotting send off.
If Friday’s second round was to be final 18 holes on the DP World Tour, Colsaerts was at least flanked by close friends as playing partners: Germany’s Marcel Siem and Frenchman Alex Levy.
“My mission this week was really to enjoy every part of the week, fill myself up and actually realize what you’ve mattered to all these [fans] at home in Belgium,” Colsaerts said. “I’m playing alongside Marcel, who has been my best friend on tour for a quarter of a century. So many flashbacks come to mind; celebrating [our successes], or missing a cut somewhere around the world on a Friday night, or flying and playing together, or having arguments together about the sport we love.
“Alexander is also somebody I’ve become extremely close to, someone with his heart in the right place. I couldn’t have dreamed for a better sendoff.”
