Darius van Driel

Darius Arjen Joel van Driel (born 2 June 1989) is a Dutch professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.

Darius van Driel
Cromvoirt, September 2018
Personal information
Full nameDarius Arjen Joel van Driel
Born (1989-06-02) 2 June 1989
Leidschendam, Netherlands
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Nationality Netherlands
ResidenceLeidschendam, Netherlands
Career
Turned professional2015
Current tour(s)European Tour
Former tour(s)Challenge Tour, Alps Tour
Professional wins6
Number of wins by tour
Challenge Tour2
Other4
Achievements and awards
NGF Young Talent of the Year2015
Alps Tour Order of Merit2015
Dutch Golfer of the Year2019

Amateur career

Born in Leidschendam, Netherlands, van Driel took up golf at the age of 11. His junior and amateur career, up to and including 2014, saw him win the Dutch National Strokeplay Championship under-19 (2007)[1] and under-22 (2010).[2] He also won the 2008 Dutch National Strokeplay Championship,[3] which earned him entry to that year's KLM Dutch Open where he missed the cut (+11) but finished as second Dutch amateur player.[4] He was selected as a member of the Dutch team for the European Amateur Team Championship in 2007 and 2010. Also during this period he took some time away from the game to complete a bachelor's degree in Economics and Sports Marketing at the Johan Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam. In 2013 he won the Dutch National Matchplay Championship.[5] and in 2014, his last year as an amateur, he finished second at the Lytham Trophy[6] and was again selected as a member of the Dutch team for the European Amateur Team Championship. He ended his amateur career by taking second place[7] in the qualifying school for the 2015 season of the Alps Tour, one of the European third-tier satellite tours.

Professional career

2015

In his first year as a professional golfer, van Driel competed in the Alps Tour. With one victory,[8][9] five 2nd places and four top-10 finishes, he won the overall Alps Tour Order of Merit.[8][10] As the 2015 Alps Tour champion, van Driel gained automatic entry to the 2016 Challenge Tour.[11]

In August 2015, van Driel also won the Dutch National Strokeplay Championship[12] and in December 2015 he was given the award for Talent of the year[13] by the Dutch Golf Federation.

2016

In 2016, van Driel competed in almost every round of the Challenge Tour, and with one second-place finish, in the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge, and five other top-10s, he finished 34th in the 2016 Order of Merit [14] ensuring his place in the 2017 Challenge Tour. He also represented the Netherlands, partnering with Joost Luiten in the 2016 World Cup of Golf held in Melbourne, Australia, from 24–27 November 2016. The Dutch team finished T17 on 8 under par.[15]

In his last tournament of the year, van Driel ended T6 in the 2016 Australian PGA Championship, one of the first tournaments of the 2017 European Tour.[16]

During 2016, he was the number 2 Dutch golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking[17] after Luiten.

2017

With only one top-20 Challenge Tour finish in a year hampered by a back problem, van Driel could only finish 91st in the final Challenge Tour rankings.

2018

After five missed cuts in the first six tournaments, van Driel began to play with more consistency, claiming his first win on the Challenge Tour, and the first Challenge Tour win by a Dutch golfer in 5 years, in the Euram Bank Open in Austria in July.[18] A 5th place in the Foshan Open in October secured him 34th position in the year-end Challenge Tour rankings.[19] In August, he also won the Duinzicht Invitational, for the 2nd time in 3 years.[20]

2019

Playing his fourth season on the Challenge Tour, van Driel won the Rolex Trophy.[21] With six other top-10 finishes, he ended 13th on the 2019 Order of Merit,[22] earning direct promotion to the European Tour in 2020. He also played in four main tour events, with a best result of second place in the Belgian Knockout.[23]

In December he was voted Dutch Golfer of the year.[24]

Amateur wins
  • 2007 Dutch National Under 18 Strokeplay Championship
  • 2008 Dutch National Open Strokeplay Championship
  • 2010 Dutch National Under 21 Strokeplay Championship
  • 2013 Dutch National Matchplay Championship, Dutch National Foursomes Championship (with Bernard Geelkerken)

Source:[25]

Professional wins (6)

Challenge Tour wins (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 29 Jul 2018 Euram Bank Open −17 (70-64-62-67=263) 1 stroke David Law
2 24 Aug 2019 Rolex Trophy −23 (68-70-63-64=265) 1 stroke Cormac Sharvin

Alps Tour wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 27 Sep 2015 Open International de Marcilly −11 (66-65-71=202) 1 stroke Damien Perrier, Jean Pierre Verselin

Other wins (3)
  • 2015 Dutch National Strokeplay Championship
  • 2016 Duinzicht Invitational
  • 2018 Duinzicht Invitational

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

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See also

References
  1. "NGF 2007".
  2. "NGF 2010".
  3. "NGF 2008".
  4. "2008 KLM Open Leaderboard". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  5. "NGF 2013".
  6. "Lytham Trophy 2014". Royal Lytham.
  7. "2014 Alps Tour Qualifying School - Final Result".
  8. "Darius van Driel – Player Tour Season Record: 2015". Alps Tour Golf.
  9. "Van Driel breekt de ban". golf.nl (in Dutch). 27 September 2015.
  10. "Israel Masters – Final Day". Alps Tour.
  11. "Darius van Driel profile". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  12. "Nationaal Open prooi voor Van Dam en Van Driel". golf.nl (in Dutch). 22 August 2015.
  13. "Golf Awards 2015". golf.nl (in Dutch).
  14. "Challenge Tour Road To Oman – 2016". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  15. "European Tour WCG 2016".
  16. "Australian PGA Championship 2016". European Tour.
  17. "Week 43 – 23 October 2016 – Netherlands". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  18. "Euram Bank Open 2018". European Tour.
  19. "Challenge Tour Road To Ras Al Khaimah – 2018". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  20. "Duinzicht 2018".
  21. "Rolex Trophy 2019". European Tour.
  22. "European Tour 2019 Rankings". European Tour.
  23. "European Tour 2019 BKO". European Tour.
  24. "Golf Awards 2019". Golf.nl (in Dutch).
  25. "Darius van Driel". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
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