KLM Open Preview: Fans Can Swing Alongside Pros
Along with standard tournament play, dozens of lucky fans will have the chance to “Beat the Pro” in a side event on the par 3 14th hole at this week’s KLM Open.
When surveying the scene for the upcoming KLM Open, it’d be fair to start this preview by mentioning that the field boasts talented players like Thomas Pieters, Alex Noren and Chris Wood. I could just as well highlight how a staple European Tour event is heading to The Dutch golf course for the first time ever in 2016.
We’ll get to all that soon, but what could steal the show this week is something entirely different from the traditional competition. It’s a new — and perhaps polarizing — idea that is finally coming to fruition after months, if not years, of ideation.
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“The KLM Open will break new ground by hosting a unique Beat the Pro competition, when amateurs will have a chance to challenge the superstars during tournament play by hitting a shot to the green at the par three 14th hole, with prizes on offer if they can get the ball closest to the pin,” reads a press release from the European Tour.
That’s right, the fans who get a kick out of jeering players with lines like “I could hit it closer than that” will have the chance to put their money where their mouth is.
Tournament organizers have built a grandstand around the 14th green to amplify the atmosphere of the side event, which will take place on Thursday and Saturday. Details on prizes available are scarce, as are the criteria to be one of the amateurs who will tee off with each group that comes through the 14th. It also remains to be seen if this could become a scaled-down version of the 16th at TPC Scottsdale, which I think most fans could get on board with.
Some will argue that this type of exhibition should be reserved for pro-am days or as its own separate outing, but wherever you fall on this and on the larger discussion of tradition versus ingenuity in golf, you have to give credit where credit is due. The European Tour is thinking outside of the box and understands its role as not just a golf entity, but as an entity in the entertainment business, too.
Sure, the last thing someone struggling to keep his tour card needs is to be upstaged by a fan waltzing up to the tee in jeans and cross trainers, but it’s all in good fun, right? With a good attitude, I think this idea has some legs, though we’re probably lightyears away from seeing it on the PGA Tour.
This exhibition is small potatoes compared to other plans the tour has up its sleeve, such as contemplating the addition of six-hole rounds, a shot clock, music and other bells and whistles to supplement its standard schedule.
As for Beat the Pro, I’m excited to wake up on Thursday to see how it all looks. No matter what happens, we’re bound to get a highlight reel moment that could put the event in the public eye in a way that the play on the course, no matter how impressive, could never do.
With that aside, let’s dig into who will be teeing it up alongside the lucky amateurs on No. 14. The aforementioned Pieters is the trendy pick this week. The 24-year-old is riding high after being selected for a European Ryder Cup captain’s pick, due in large part to his four top five finishes in 2016, including a near-miss at a podium finish at the Olympics.
Pieters’ win in Denmark two weeks ago was the main reason for his selection. His strong play of late is reason enough to peg the Belgian as the favorite this week, but he is also the defending tournament champion, albeit at Kennemer G&CC in 2015.
At No. 30 in the world, Chris Wood is the highest-ranked player in the field. The Englishman missed the cut at last year’s event and is seeking his first top 10 in four events since a neck injury sidelined him in July.
Joost Luiten will headline a Dutch contingent of 15 golfers. Luiten has done well on his home turf, winning the event in 2013 and placing second in 2007. He tied for 23rd last year and has flashed plenty of form in a so-far winless season. The curly haired 30-year-old owns six top 10s and a pair of runner-ups in 2016.
Other notable names who will be in Spijk, Netherlands on Sept. 8-11 include tour winners Byeong Hun An, Bernd Wiesberger, Haotong Li , Y.E. Yang and three-time KLM Open champion Simon Dyson.
Groups to watch:
- Stephen Gallacher, Y.E. Yang, Nicolas Colsaerts
- Thongchai Jaidee, Alex Noren, Chris Wood
- Bernd Wiesberger, Joost Luiten, Thomas Pieters (2015 champ)
- Simon Dyson (2006, 2009, 2011 champ), Peter Hanson (2012 champ), Byeong Hun An
What do you think of the Beat the Pro competition? Will Thomas Pieters go back-to-back on the European Tour? Let us know in the comments, and keep it here for more updates from the KLM Open.