Just not for Nicolas Colsaerts: our compatriot is one stroke away from winning the tournament in Scotland

Nicolas Colsaerts failed to win the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (DP World Tour/6 million dollars) on Sunday at the Old Couse in St Andrews, Scotland. With a total of 265 strokes, 23 under par, the 41-year-old Brussels resident was one stroke behind the Englishman Tyrrell Hatton. For their final round, Colsaerts and Tyrrell both needed 70 strokes, two under par.

Tyrell’s compatriot Tommy Fleetwood took third place by three strokes. Matthis Besard finished with 276 strokes, twelve under, in 43rd place. After two rounds, the 24-year-old from East Flanders was still thirteenth, but two rounds in 71 strokes were insufficient to maintain that position.

Colsaerts, who had completed his first three rounds in 65 strokes, also started well on Sunday, with three birdies on the first seven holes, but then had to make bogeys on holes eight and thirteen. A fourth birdie, on hole fifteen, was just not enough to lift himself next to Hatton. That 32-year-old Englishman put his name on the honors list for a third time. He also won the tournament in 2016 and 2017.

Hatton won a total of seven tournaments on the European Tour and was successful once on the PGA Tour. Colsaerts missed out on a fourth victory on the European Tour. He won the China Open in 2011, the World Match Play in 2012 and the French Open in 2018.

Pride prevails

“Coming second is always a bit bitter, but I am especially proud of this second place,” said Nicolas Colsaerts, after he narrowly missed out on a fourth tournament victory on the European Tour on Sunday in St Andrews, Scotland.

At the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (5 million dollars), Colsaerts was in contention for victory until the last hole. On that last hole, Englishman Tyrrell Hatton did one stroke better than Colsaerts with a birdie. “I also played well here last year (he finished sixth), but it is the first time in years that I am really fighting for victory until the end and that feels quite good. It’s a shame I didn’t do better on that last hole, but perhaps holes eight to eleven were the most important. People often only look at that last hole, but I could have done a little better in the middle of the course.”