Former Ryder Cup champion reveals shelving retirement plan at the FedEx Open de France

Modified Oct 12, 2024 14:08 GMT

Olympics: Golf-Men — Nicolas Colsaerts (Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images)

Former Ryder Cup champion Nicolas Colsaerts has shelved his retirement plans. The 41-year-old Belgian player had decided to retire after the 2024 FedEx Open de France.

Colsaerts shelved his retirement plans after finishing as a runner-up at the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He lost the tournament by one stroke to Tyrrell Hatton. Before the tournament, he missed nine cuts in his previous 15 starts. DP World Tour posted on X and wrote:

"The FedEx Open de France was due to be ’ swansong as a professional golfer. But with one performance, which nearly saw him make a remarkable return to the DP World Tour winner’s circle, those plans were quickly shelved"

In an interview with DP World Tour, he said (via European Tour):

"It's funny how when you don’t really care that much, you seize an opportunity when it is there, and you enjoy every minute of it. I was there [in the moment] every second of the day, every shot of the day."

Expand Tweet

Nicolas Colsaerts said that he had been a victim of "toxic self-criticism" earlier this season. He further said:

"All of a sudden when you don’t put that unnecessary pressure on yourself, you just play the game again and it felt incredibly good," he added.

He carded 65, 65, 65, and 70 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and was always in contention. The tournament was held in three Scottish courses and the final was held at the oldest golf course, St. Andrews. He said:

“I was always at my best when I was inspired. If you’re not inspired by playing at St Andrews, Carnoustie, and also Kingsbarns… and these amazing golf courses in somehow decent weather then you might as well just not take up the sport."

In the interview, he mentioned that he was going through a rough phase in the 2019 Open de France when he was about to lose his European Tour card but he won the tournament. He said that given how the last few years passed he could have crumbled in the last few holes at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He felt proud that he didn't.

After his runner-up finish, he jumped more than 400 spots from 695th to 192nd in the OWGR rankings. However, he missed the cut in the latest FedExCup de France.

A look at Former Ryder Cup champion Nicolas Colsaerts' golf career

Nicolas Colsaerts turned professional in 2000 at the age of 18. He gained the European Tour card in the same year through 2000 Qualifying School. However, he lost the card after a dismal year and played on the Challenge Tour. He quickly regained the European Tour card and played on it for several seasons.

His first European Tour victory came at the 2011 Volvo China Open. He won the tournament by four strokes. In 2012, he won the Volvo World Match Play Championship by 1 Up against Graeme McDowell. His third victory on the European Tour came at the 2019 Amundi Open de France by one stroke over Joachim B. Hansen.

Colsaerts played an important part in helping Europe win the 2012 Ryder Cup at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. Europe won by 14.5 - 13.5.

He has 10 professional wins three of them on the European Tour and two of them on the Challenge Tour. He has played in 473 tournaments on the DP World Tour and has made cuts in 276 of them. He has had 31 top-10 finishes in his career.

Let's take a look at Nicolas Colsaerts's best performances in his golf career: