Thomas Pieters

Had not played a major championship prior to Royal Troon in 2016 but two months later made his Ryder Cup debut and was top scorer on either side with four victories out of five in Europe’s defeat at Hazeltine.  

Three of those wins were with Rory McIlroy as his partner and his stock rose further when he tied for fourth in 2017 on his first Masters appearance. Now has six DP World Tour successes, most recently the 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The 6ft 5in golfer was a star of the American college scene while at the University of Illinois and played twice for Belgium in the World Amateur Team Championship. His first two victories in Europe came back-to-back in 2015 and he was a wildcard choice of Darren Clarke for the Ryder Cup.

After coming fourth in the Olympics and second in the Czech Masters he was paired with Europe’s captain for the final qualifying event in Denmark, opened with a 62 and birdied the last three holes for a one-stroke victory.

In February 2017 was joint runner-up behind Dustin Johnson at the PGA Tour’s Genesis Open, tied for sixth at the PGA Championship in August 2018 and three months later partnered Thomas Detry to Belgium’s first victory in the ISPS Handa World Cup. Reached a high of 23rd in the world in August 2017.