Thomas Pieters

JOINED TOUR

• PGA TOUR: 2017

International Victories (4)

• 2015 D+D Real Czech Masters [Eur]
• 2015 KLM Open [Eur]
• 2016 Made in Denmark [Eur]
• 2019 D+D Real Czech Masters

Additional Victories (1)

• 2018 ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf

National Teams

• 2016 Ryder Cup
• 2016 Olympic Games
• 2016, 2018 World Cup
• 2010, 2012 Eisenhower Trophy
• 2012 Palmer Cup
• 2018 EurAsia Cup
• 2010 Jacques Léglise Trophy

Personal

• Attended the University of Illinois, where he was teammates with PGA TOUR player Luke Guthrie.
• Watched the sitcom "Friends" to help better his English.
• Began playing golf at age 5 when his family took up the sport while on a South African vacation.
• Also enjoys playing basketball and tennis. Is a big admirer of Roger Federer and Derrick Rose.

Special Interests

• Snowboarding

Career Highlights

2019 Season

• D+D Real Czech Masters: Claimed his fourth European Tour title at the D+D Real Czech Masters with a one-shot victory over Adri Arnaus. Became the first two-time champion of the event, following his maiden European Tour victory at the same Prague venue in 2015. Recorded his fourth top-10 finish at D+D Real Czech Masters in six starts and returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since winning the 2016 Made in Denmark.

2018 Season

• PGA Championship: Following an 86th-place finish in 2016 and a missed cut in 2017, made six birdies in the final round to finish T6 at 10-under 270 at the PGA Championship. Was making his ninth major championship start, with a T4 at the 2017 Masters his only previous top-10 showing in a major.

2017 Season

Made seven cuts in 12 starts on the PGA TOUR, posting four top-10 finishes, including a season-best T2 at the Genesis Open while playing on a sponsor's exemption. Secured enough Non-Member FedExCup points after a T5 at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship to accept Special Temporary Membership, allowing for unlimited sponsor invitations. Will play out of the Top 125 Non-Member category for the 2017-18 PGA TOUR Season.

• World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational: Fired a final-round 1-over 71 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational to fall to solo-fourth after sharing the 54-hole lead with Zach Johnson. Joined Russell Knox (71/R2) and Rickie Fowler (71/R2) as the only players to finish in the top nine while shooting a round over par during the week. Held the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the first time in a PGA TOUR event.
• Masters Tournament: In his first start at the Masters, and 12th career start on the PGA TOUR, bounced back from a third-round, 3-over 75 with a 68 Sunday to finish T4 at 5-under 283 with Matt Kuchar. Reeled off four straight birdies on Nos. 12-15 en route to his Sunday finish. The 68 Sunday was just one stroke off the low round of the day.
• World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship: Making his first start in the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, carded rounds of 68-69-68-68 to finish T5 for his second top-five of the season. He was the only player in the field at Club de Golf Chapultepec with all four rounds in the 60s. With his strong finish, his FedExCup Points total rose to 416, making him eligible for Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR.
• Genesis Open: Playing on a sponsor's exemption, carded eight birdies (including a 15-footer on the last hole) en route to a final-round 8-under 63, jumping into a tie for second with Scott Brown at the Genesis Open, five strokes behind runaway champion Dustin Johnson. The 63 matched the low round of the week, set in the third round by Wesley Bryan. Collected 245 non-member FedExCup points, moving his total to 306 (just 13 shy of earning Special Temporary Membership). The runner-up finish came on the same Riviera Country Club course where he won the 2012 NCAA individual title (while playing for the University of Illinois) en route to National Player of the Year honors.

2016 Season

• Ryder Cup: Making his first-ever start at the Ryder Cup, went 4-1 in his five matches in the European team's 17-11 loss to the United States at Hazeltine. Marked the best record by a European rookie in Ryder Cup history. Week began when he and Lee Westwood lost 5&4 to Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar in Friday foursomes, but did not lose a match the rest of the way. Capped off the week with a 3&2 singles victory over J.B. Holmes.
• Olympic Men's Golf Competition: Represented Belgium when golf returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1904 in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Finished fourth at 9-under 275 in the 60-player field, four strokes out of a podium position.
• Made in Denmark: Playing with European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke (who later named him as a captain's selection to the European Ryder Cup Team), opened the Made in Denmark with a course-record tying 62 en route to his third European Tour victory (becoming the first Belgian with three career wins). Withstood a 4-hour and 15-minute weather delay during the final round, closing with three birdies on Nos. 16-18 for a 65 and one-stroke win over Bradley Dredge. At 17-under 267, established a new tournament record at the Made in Denmark. Having won his first title at the end of August 2015, his second in September and third in August 2016, became the only player on Tour with three victories between August 2015 and August 2016. At 24 years and 214 days, became the youngest winner of the Made in Denmark. The win marked the fifth top-four finish of the 2016 season, following a runner-up showing at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, third in the True Thailand Classic, fourth in the Olympic Men's Golf Competition and runner-up in the D+D REAL Czech Masters.
• Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship: Opened strong out of the gate with a solo runner-up finish to Rickie Fowler at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Finished 15-under and just one behind Fowler, despite a 1-over 73 during the second round. Week highlighted by an 8-under 64 during the third round.
• True Thailand Classic: Closed 66-66-68 to finish solo-third, three strokes behind Scott Hend at the True Thailand Classic.
• World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions: Made five starts on the PGA TOUR, with a T23 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions his lone top-25 finish.

2015 Season

• Alfred Dunhill Links Championship: First top-10 of the season came in December 2014 when he recorded four under-par rounds at the Alfred Dunhill Championship to T8.
• Portugal Masters: Added an additional top-10 in mid-October when he T6 at the Portugal Masters at Oceanico Victoria GC.
• KLM Open: Earned his second consecutive win in as many starts when he used a third-round 65 and four rounds in the 60s to win the KLM Open in Zandvoort, Netherlands, by a shot over Spain's Eduardo De La Riva. At the par-70 Kennemer G&CC, rounds of 68-66-62-65 gave him the win. Broke into the Official World Golf Ranking top 100 following the victory, checking in at No. 88 after starting the year No. 240.
• Real Czech Masters: Broke through in a big way when he won his first European Tour event, capturing the Real Czech Masters in late-August. Was the only player in the field with four sub-70 rounds at Albatross Golf Resort in Prague. Weekend rounds of 65-69 gave him a three-shot victory over Sweden's Pelle Edberg. Slowly pulled away on the back nine Sunday, making three birdies while Edberg posted eight pars and a bogey.
• Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship: In his next start, in mid-January, opened 65-67 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and was only a stroke off Martin Kaymer's 36-hole lead at Abu Dhabi GC. A pair of 70s on the weekend left him T4 with Victor Dubuisson, three strokes behind winner Gary Stal.

2014 Season

Despite making only eight cuts in 27 European Tour starts, made the most of his opportunities on the weekend. First top-10 came at the Maybank Malaysian Open in April, a 67-69-68 final 54 holes offsetting his disappointing start, a 3-over 75 in Kuala Lumpur. Also missed the cut in his only European Challenge Tour start.

• M2M Russian Open: Added a T6 in July in Russia, at the M2M Russian Open. A Thursday-Friday 67-68 left him in second place through 36 holes, two shots behind David Horsey. Earned the top-10 when he shot even-par 72s on the weekend.
• Madeira Islands Open: Contended at the Open de Espana and was poised to win through 54 holes. Held a two-shot advantage over Miguel Angel Jimenez at PGA Catalunya Resort. Played poorly on the final day, shooting a 3-over 75 to fall into a three-way playoff with Jimenez and Richard Green, an overtime session Jimenez would win.

2013 Season

Made six European Challenge Tour starts, with his best outing a T23 at the Karnten Golf Open in Austria.

• Alstom Open de France: Made one European Tour cut, a T29 at the Alstom Open de France in July. Opened and closed with 70s in Paris.

Amateur Highlights

• Closed his college career in style in 2013, with top-five finishes at the Louisiana Classics (fifth), the Desert Shootout (third) and the Boilermaker Invitational (fourth) before winning the Big Ten Conference Championship individual title and helping the
• At the 2012 NCAA Championship, his Illinois team could only muster a 21st-place finish in the team competition while he won the 54-hole, stroke-play portion of the tournament at Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Shot rounds of 69-68-71 to defeat Tex
• Won the 2011 Jack Nicklaus Invitational while playing for the University of Illinois. Shot rounds of 66-71-72 at Muirfield Village, defeating Texas' Jordan Spieth and Purdue's Tyler Duncan by two shots.
• Earned a victory when he captured the Monroe Invitational Championship in June in Pittsford, N.Y. Shot rounds of 71-67-66-68 to edger Alex Edfort by a shot at Monroe GC.
• Won the 2009 International of Belgium Junior Championship and the Ternesse Junior Open.