« Golf is not an individual sport. It requires a competent, healthy, and supportive environment around the player. We share the same values of perseverance, respect, and humility, and it is together that we will reach for the stars! »
2000 — 2006
The year 2000 was a turning point for most, filled with uncertainties and excitement, and yet, there I was, born in January 2000. I am the “petit dernier” as we say in French, meaning I am the little kid in the family ;-) My sister is 12 years older and my brother is 10 years older, and we live in Sombreffe (Namur, Belgium) well.. I still live there with my parents, they don’t! I started golf randomly with my brother when I was 6, I say randomly because golf was never a part of my family. We started at La Bruyère (Villers-la-Ville), but my brother stopped a couple years later, and I am still there as you can see…
2007 — 2013
Straight from the start, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by great people at La Bruyère with the Theys and Teixeira’s families. We would spend our weekends chipping or playing on the course and I started playing all the junior tournaments in Belgium: Junior Trophies, ABORs, Scapa Tours, Wintercups, Interclubs,...
When I was 8, I was selected by the AFGolf, which is the golf federation for the french speaking part of the country (I know, complicated country). I worked with several coaches during that time, firstly Nicolas Theys, then Naima Ghislain and Ghislain Assant. I am thankful for what they taught me and it’s always a pleasure to see them every now and then!
- 2010: National Champion U10
- 2012: Interclubs Junior U12 Champion with La Bruyère
- 2012: National Champion U12
2014 — 2016
This was an important time in my young career. 2014 marked my last year at La Bruyère, a year where we won the Interclubs U14 with James Meyer de Beco and Adrien Dumont de Chassart. 2014 was also the year of my first Belgian team selections for the Belgian International Amateur U14 and the Quadrangular Junior in Finland. On a more personal note, 2014 is the year where I joined the Junior Bombers, a junior team created by Nicolas Colsaerts, led by his coaches Michel Vanmerbeeck and Jérôme Theunis and his manager Vincent Borremans. Jérôme became my main coach since then.
This was an important step for me as I was then surrounded with people full of experience and goodwill. People who inspired me to develop valors such as ambition, perseverance, and humility. More importantly, I had the opportunity to develop my game, mental and physic in a very professional yet very enjoyable atmosphere. Over the years, I have developed a special relationship with Jérôme as he became a real mentor for me. His experience and his analysis of the game are incredible and a real advantage for me. The fact he coaches guys such as Colsaerts, Pieters or Detry on the main tours is very inspiring and you’re never short of a good story!
- 2014: Interclubs U14 Champion (La Bruyère)
- 2015: Junior Tour Kapellen U16 Champion
- 2016: Junior Tour Kapelle U16 Champion
2017
At 17, I graduated from high school and before starting college, I decided to take a gap year to improve certain aspects of my golf before I was 100% sure it was the journey I wanted to take after college. In the end, that year brought me a lot of positive experiences and my golf improved a lot, which allowed me to enter the first team at the University of Stirling straight away.
« Jean plays a serene, consistent, and yet sometimes creative golf, with a well-established short game that earns him crucial points around the greens and allows him to see promising prospects for improvement. »
Jérôme Theunis
European Tour coach
2018 - 2021
In 2018, I embarked on a 4 year’s journey to study Management and play golf in the best college golf program in Europe. Right during my first months, I was selected to represent Belgium at the World Amateur Team Championship in Ireland and at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. My last achievement with the Belgium team was to earn a bronze medal at the European Amateur Team Championship in Spain (2021).
During that period, I also changed my home club and I decided to join the club of Rigenée, which is known for its competitiveness, its good atmosphere. The Descampe family, the members and the coaching staff have been really supportive through highs and lows and always eager to help. I will be forever thankful to them.
2022 - …
Early in 2022, I decided to turn pro! With the support of my family, my home club Rigenée, my friends and my coaching team, it turned out to be a really smooth transition, both on the golf side and on the technical side that includes finance, management, etc.
With Jérôme and the fact he is more and more often abroad coaching some of the best guys in the world, we decided to bring in Rigenée’s pros in our team, led by Thomas Mambourg, to coach me on a daily basis and help me put a clear structure in place for my training.
My goal is simple, to get on the main tour ASAP, and to get every single opportunity out there! It can be a long journey but I have all the time in the world… Let’s go get it!
