First full season as a professional, here is the recap of 2023!
First full season as a professional, here is the recap of 2023!
Over the winter, I took the opportunity to travel to Thailand to prepare my season while benefiting from an invite on the All Thailand Tour thanks my coach Jérôme and Fonzie and Brian Nilsson (ex caddy of Nico Colsaerts). I spent a few weeks over there which enabled me to discover a new culture while practicing in a great environment.
The ProGolf Tour season began in March in Egypt where we had 4 tournaments. Then we were back in Europe at the end of April in Austria. Until June, the first 7 tournaments did not go my way as I missed all the cuts, this is where I decided to change the structure of my coaching team to bring Thomas Mambourg and Nicolas Makhoul from Rigenée, alongside Jérôme Theunis who remains my head coach. This change aimed to bring more structure in my day-to-day training and showed significant results just a month later in Germany where I made my first cut and finished T5. The following week, I lost in a 4-men playoff in Austria, followed by 3 more top 10s. Definitely the highlight of my season!! Overall, the great scores of the summer placed me at the 21st place in the ProGolf Tour ranking, which is not enough because only the top 5 qualified for the 2024 Challenge Tour.
Early in September, I entered the first stage of the DP World Tour Q Schools in Millenium (Belgium). After last year’s failed attempt at Hardelot to reach the second stage, I was determined to make it this year. Caddied by my girlfriend, we made it happen after 4 rounds in 19 under par and a 3rd place!! Last week, I was thus in the field for the second stage which took place in Fontanals Golf Club in Spain, in the Pyrénées. We drove there with my coach Thomas, and the goal was simple: to make it to the third and final stage! Despite some really good sensations during the practice rounds, we faced some serious weather conditions on the first round, followed by some heavy winds the next three days. The result is a 44th place and no access to the final stage where only the top 22 would qualify.
Some would say it’s a disappointing end of the season but I disagree. It brings me more motivation than ever for next year! We know what we need to work on, we know what’s good, and we could compare to guys on Challenge Tour, DP World Tour and other major tours. We know what’s needed and after a week off to reflect on all that, the preparation work for 2024 will begin next week!
I’ll just grab the opportunity to thank my girlfriend, my family and my friends for their support! But more importantly, I want to thank my supporters club and my sponsors: Idealis Consulting, Beyoond, JetExpress, AFGolf, Rigenée Golf Club, Callaway, ByMyCar Mercedes Wavre and Sorescol for their support and to allow me to live my dream 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 🙏🏻
Stay tuned for more news/blogs/posts in the upcoming weeks and let me know what you want to know !!
