Joost Luiten Dutch hero with KLM Open win

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Home hero Joost Luiten fired a brilliant, course-record equalling 63 to make history and win his second KLM Open at The Dutch with a 19-under-par total of 275.
Enormous galleries had been following the 30 year old all week in Spijk, and he gave them the result they craved with a scintillating display of iron play and long-range putting to hold off the challenge of Bernd Wiesberger.
The pair went blow for blow for large parts of Sunday afternoon but three birdies in his final five holes helped Luiten to a 19 under total and a three-shot victory over the Austrian. Luiten earned 300,000 euros and Wiesberger 200,000.
The triumph makes Luiten the first Dutch player to win his national Open twice since it joined the European Tour in 1972 - following his win in 2013 - and makes him a five-time winner on Tour.
It is his first win for almost two years and reward for a brilliantly consistent 2016 so far that saw him come into the week with eight top tens including two runner-up finishes and represent his country at the Olympic Men's Golf Competition.
South Korea's Byeong-hun An was then third at 13 under after matching Austria's Wiesberger with a 65, a shot ahead of Spaniard Alejandro Cañizares, English duo Ben Evans and David Horsey and Australia's Scott Hend.
But the day belonged to Luiten who channelled the pressure of carrying the hopes of a nation into one of the most remarkable final round performances of the season as he made a total of ten birdies to conquer all of his challengers and delight his adoring home crowd.

Player Quotes

JOOST LUITEN (-19): “The first one was special but this one very special. To have the Dutch people behind me all week and to be able to stand here with the trophy in my hands is very special. It was one of those days where everything I looked at went in the hole. People talk about the zone, and I think I was in it today. I missed one shot when I went in the water on 13 but besides that I didn’t do much wrong. These are the kind of days that make it all worth getting out of bed for.
“I only realised when I walked off 18 that someone said I had made ten birdies. I had no idea it was that many – I was trying to keep my head down and stay ahead of Bernd because he was getting closer and closer. So I just kept trying to make birdies and then to have a three-shot lead coming down the last was amazing.
“Sometimes it can be more difficult to have a tournament on your home course because the pressure and expectation can be too much but I just tried to stay calm all week because I knew I was swinging it well and the big thing for me was my mental game. I didn’t let myself down mentally and to be able to pull through in front of all these people was special.
“This makes up for any disappointments this season. I had been so close to winning this year in Spain and China but to win here in front of your home support just makes you forget about all the disappointing results. We will see what happens but I just want to keep this form going and see where it takes me.”

BERND WIESBERGER (-16): “It was a great final round but then I finished a bit sloppily unfortunately. But there were so many positives out there today and hit so many good shots that I can take a lot of positives from the week. My season hasn’t been great so far this year – it certainly hasn’t been up to the standard that I would expect so this week has felt like I have turned a corner.
“It was great to be back in contention in the back nine and nice to remind the guys that I am still around! All in all it was great fun out there and the other good thing about this week was my putting. That is something that I really want to take forward for the rest of the season and hopefully I can keep giving myself good chances to be in contention.”
FINAL TOTALS
par 284 (4x71)
265 J Luiten (Ned) 69 64 69 63
268 B Wiesberger  (Aut) 66 66 71 65
271 B An (SKor) 66 72 68 65
272 A Cañizares  (Esp) 67 67 70 68, B Evans  (Eng) 65 69 68 70, D Horsey (Eng) 67 68 67 70, S Hend (Aus) 67 68 64 73
273 C Hanson (Eng) 66 71 67 69, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 68 68 69 68
274 S Lee (SKor) 68 69 70 67, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 67 67 69 71, B Stone (RSA) 72 68 63 71, M Korhonen (Fin) 66 69 72 67, S Khan (Eng) 68 67 68 71, S Jamieson  (Sco) 68 70 69 67
275 R Bland (Eng) 67 69 66 73, P Dunne (Irl) 74 64 68 69, P Hanson (Swe) 66 72 72 65, F Zanotti (Par) 68 69 70 68
276 P Larrazábal (Esp) 70 71 69 66, J Lagergren (Swe) 66 70 70 70, L Haotong (Chn) 69 72 68 67, R McEvoy  (Eng) 69 67 73 67
277 P Edberg (Swe) 73 68 66 70, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 71 69 65 72, J Campillo (Esp) 70 68 69 70, N Bertasio (Ita) 66 67 67 77
278 D Gavins (Eng) 70 65 72 71, O Fisher  (Eng) 67 71 71 69, M Tabuena (Phi) 71 67 69 71, S Gros (Fra) 74 67 65 72, W Besseling  (Ned) 73 68 68 69, L Bjerregaard  (Den) 70 70 68 70,
279 J Fahrbring (Swe) 70 71 70 68, J Robinson (Eng) 68 68 76 67, E Molinari  (Ita) 75 65 70 69, M Kieffer (Ger) 70 69 70 70, T Linard (Fra) 69 72 69 69, D Im (USA) 70 67 67 75, R Langasque  (Fra) 68 73 69 69, A Noren  (Swe) 69 69 70 71, A Levy (Fra) 72 67 70 70, N Srithong (Tha) 67 72 70 70, E De La Riva  (Esp) 72 68 68 71,
280 T Van Der Walt (RSA) 68 72 70 70, M Manassero (Ita) 67 70 72 71, R Evans  (Eng) 73 66 69 72, D Brooks (Eng) 72 66 69 73, R Fisher (Eng) 70 66 73 71, N Elvira  (Esp) 69 68 74 69,
281 M Southgate  (Eng) 72 65 68 76, J Veerman (USA) 70 71 69 71, M Foster (Eng) 67 66 76 72, C Lee (Sco) 71 68 68 74, C Pigem (Esp) 70 70 71 70, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 71 69 70 71, J Knutzon (USA) 72 68 71 70, S Webster (Eng) 69 71 72 69,
282 A Otaegui  (Esp) 73 68 67 74, C Wood  (Eng) 72 68 72 70, R Davies (Wal) 71 69 71 71
283 M Baldwin (Eng) 67 71 73 72, G Storm  (Eng) 69 67 76 71, L Jensen (Den) 72 69 69 73, J Carlsson (Swe) 68 71 75 69
284 M Fraser (Aus) 73 68 72 71, M Lafeber (Ned) 71 70 74 69,
285 F Laporta (Ita) 71 69 74 71
286 R Karlsson (Swe) 69 72 74 71, J Parry (Eng) 74 67 74 71
288 S Benson (Eng) 69 70 72 77
289 D Burmester (RSA) 70 71 71 77

TO VIEW THE ALLOCATION OF PRIZEMONEY

CLICK HERE