World Cup winner Thomas Pieters thinks similarities between the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth and the Belgian Knockout he hosts will help him. Picture by GETTY IMAGES
THOMAS Pieters’ last visit to Australia yielded glory for his country, and the Belgian is aiming for more success in a very different format at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth.
The Ryder Cup ace is the tournament favourite at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, arriving in Perth on the back of seven straight top 30 finishes worldwide.
It is also less than three months after Pieters lifted the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf trophy alongside countryman Thomas Detry.
Pieters may have missed the cut when he last teed it up on the Lake Karrinyup layout in 2014, but he has long put those memories behind him
Thomas is looking forward to the exciting mix of stroke play and match play that also features in his own event, the Belgian Knockout, which made its debut on the European Tour last season.
Pieters said: “I love Australia. I’ve always had a liking for it, and the golf courses especially.
“I played the World Cup at The Metropolitan and before that Kingston Heath. A wonderful course as well.
“I have good memories about this course, but I just didn’t play well five years ago, and I was nowhere near the same golfer as I think I am today.
“But I saw the course today and it does bring back some memories. I like that you can be very aggressive here.
“Goals-wise, I would love to make it to Sunday, and I think if you just make it to Sunday, anybody’s got a chance.
“It’s always nice (to be one of the favourites). I’m playing decent golf, hitting the ball quite nice, I just haven’t put four really good rounds together.
“So, it’s just a matter of time, I think. I’m quite positive about the next few months.
Pieters added: “At the Belgian Knockout it’s not quite the same, but we have a knockout stage as well after 36 holes.
“I just like new ideas and I think it makes it interesting for the public to watch on TV.
“I think that’s where golf is going to go or needs to go, especially with young guys playing aggressive golf. It’s fun to watch.”
Home favourite and Major winner Geoff Ogilvy is also relishing this week’s format, which features 54 holes of traditional strokeplay across the first three days followed by six-hole knockout matchplay in the fourth and final round.
Ogilvy said: “I think there’s plenty of room in golf for different stuff than 72-hole strokeplay.
“I haven’t felt what it’s like here, the format and how it unfolds, but the guys who have played it have loved it, think it’s a really cool, exciting thing.
“Pure matchplay tournaments don’t seem to work commercially because half the field’s gone every day. But this is kind of that happy medium.
“The traditionalists are happy because we’re playing stroke play for three days, and the 20/20 crowd is happy because we’re playing the six-hole matchplay.
The 2006 US Open champion has recently returned to his homeland after 20 years in the United States.
And he is looking forward to spending time with some of the young Australian players in the field this week, including 23-year-old Lucas Herbert, who made his mark on the European Tour last season after finishing in third place in this event.
Ogilvy said: “Lucas is doing a pretty good job. He’s one of the young Australians who I think is doing it right, going through Europe first, learning the craft of the game.
“One of the things I would love to do when I’m at home is just play golf with all these guys – play with an ulterior motive that will help me get better too, I think.
Ogilvy also claimed three World Golf Championship titles – two matchplay – beating Davis Love III in 2006, and Surrey’s Paul Casey in 2009 – sandwiching his CA Championship strokeplay victory at Doral in 2008.
Along with 2013 Masters Champion Adam Scott and 2015 USPGA winner Jason Day, who also has two WGC matchplay titles under his belt, the Adelaide-born golfer is in a great position to help the current younger generation Down Under develop.
Ogilvy, who played in the British Amateur at Turnberry in 1996, added: “If they can learn anything from me either just by watching or any advice they ask or anything like that, that would be great.
“It’s a nice thing if each generation can kind of keep helping the generation before.”
