Nicolas Colsaerts is relishing the chance to inspire the next generation of Belgian golfers one last time as he brings down the curtain on his DP World Tour career.
Colsaerts has been one of European golf’s biggest stars of the 21st century, known for his prodigious distance off the tee and laidback demeanour that earned him the nickname the Dude.
That is not to say he has not been a serious player, with three DP World Tour victories among his 504 appearances before this week and a Ryder Cup appearance at the unforgettable Miracle of Medinah.
This week, the Soudal Open makes its 20th appearance on the DP World Tour since 1978, with a number of hiatuses meaning he has not been able to play or witness as many as he would have liked.
That means Colsaerts knows better than many the good that can be done by a home open, and he is hoping to leave a mark on the game in his homeland one last time at Rinkven International Golf Club.
“It's super special,” he said. “I don't live here or I don't live at home anymore. You know, my home is somewhere else, so every time I come back, it's always a special feeling, you know, seeing faces that you know really well or you've known a long, time.
“They've done a really good job with this tournament the last couple of years. I'm extremely grateful to have my face everywhere in the hospitality and everything for this last dance. And yeah, listen, I'm really, really happy to be here.
“It's down to not forgetting where you come from. You know, the first time I played this golf course, I was like 15, 16 years old. And to come now at 43 and playing my last European Tour event on the very same course is really cool.
“But yeah, it's not big stage or small stage, it's who you play in front of. It's what it means to you. And not having a chance to play at Belgian Open throughout my career because there wasn't any. They were the first events that I went to watch when I was eight, nine years old. So they're still very fresh in my mind.
“Having to do that in Holland and France always broke my heart, but it's such an unbelievable opportunity to do this at home and then close this chapter and do it in front of people I've known really well for so long is really really cool.
“When you're a young golfer and you get a taste of it, you know, the same way that when you're eight, nine, ten years old, you go to the first pro event and you see the big boys play, you want to become that.
“When you're an amateur, 16-year-old teeing it up in your first Soudal Open, it gives you an indication of where you are and you kind of feel like you're touching your gods a little bit. It’s extremely inspiring and I hope that this tournament will have a bright future.”
As well as providing inspiration to those watching this week. Colsaerts is also proud to have given current stars a role model to whom they could look up.
Thomas Pieters is a Rolex Series winner and Ryder Cup player, Thomas Detry is a PGA TOUR winner and Adrien Dumont de Chassart is one of the game’s rising stars.
“Well, it all changed when I started to play really well around 2010,” he said. “Still to this day, there's people that come up to me and tell me that they started to play golf because they watched the Ryder Cup in Medinah in 2012.
“So I kind of understand the role that I have played. I also understand that it's maybe allowed Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry to believe in their dreams.
“It's not because you come from a small country that doesn't have a massive golf history... it's, you know, very well achievable.
“So if that's what I have done throughout my career, I'm perfectly fine with that.”
Colsaerts will tee off on Thursday morning alongside two of his best friends on Tour – Marcel Siem and Alexander Levy – and he admits that be it on Friday or Sunday, that final walk up the 18th will be emotional.
“My only hope is that this will keep going through the years and that the people will understand what it takes to get to the top of the tree,” he said. “How much sacrifices are made along the way and in the end what it also means to us.
“The last couple of years I've started to look at these guys that are doing their farewells and everything and you really see on people's faces what it means to them and the vibrations that they have felt throughout their career.
“So if you see some tears that are coming down the farewell on Friday, that's exactly what I mean.”
