Thomas Detry (born 13 January 1993) is a Belgian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He was a highly ranked amateur golfer before turning professional. In his first professional win at the Bridgestone Challenge, he set Challenge Tour records for largest margin of victory and tied for lowest score under-par with Ivó Giner.

Thomas Detry
Detry at the 2009 KLM Open
Personal information
Born (1993-01-13) 13 January 1993 (age 31)[1]
Uccle, Belgium
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Sporting nationality Belgium
ResidenceDubai, United Arab Emirates
Career
CollegeUniversity of Illinois
Turned professional2016
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Former tour(s)Challenge Tour
Professional wins2
Highest ranking48 (16 June 2024)[2]
(as of 3 November 2024)
Number of wins by tour
Challenge Tour1
Other1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipT4: 2024
U.S. OpenT14: 2024
The Open ChampionshipT13: 2023

Early life

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Detry was born in 1993 in Uccle, Belgium south of Brussels.[1] He started playing golf when he was 5, but also played tennis and lawn hockey. He started competing in international golf tournaments when he was 13 years old. He studied at the Golf Flanders Topsportschool Vlaanderen in Hasselt until 2012. In 2009, when he was 16 years old, Detry won the Dutch Junior Open, a competition for young golfers aged under 21.[3][4]

Amateur career

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After being part of the winning Belgian team at the 2010 European Boys' Team Championship at Klassis C&CC, Turkey, Detry was selected for the Junior Ryder Cup team (a competition between American and European youth) in 2010 and the Jacques Léglise Trophy team (pitting continental European boys against a team from the British Isles) in 2010 and 2011.[3][4]

Detry represented Belgium at the Eisenhower Trophy three times, first time, in 2010, only 17 years old. He also represented Belgium at the European Amateur Team Championship and Europe in the Palmer Cup in 2014 and 2015.[5]

Following fellow golfer and good friend Thomas Pieters,[6] Detry studied Business Management at the University of Illinois from 2012 to 2016. He was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2013 and the Big Ten Golfer of the Year in 2015.[7]

He was named the best Belgian amateur golfer in 2013 and 2015.[3]

After winning the 2016 Big Ten Championship, he was ranked the 5th best amateur golfer in the world by the World Amateur Golf Ranking.[8][9]

Professional career

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Detry turned professional in June 2016 and started competing on the Challenge Tour.[1] He made the cut in his first 10 professional events, culminating in his win at the 2016 Bridgestone Challenge. With this win, he equaled the record for lowest under-par finish ever on the Challenge Tour (29 under par, set in 2003 by Ivó Giner), and set a new record for the win by the widest margin ever on the Challenge Tour – 12 strokes ahead of the second-place finisher.[6][10] He also broke the course record at Heythrop Park Resort with his first round of 60 (12 under par).[6][10]

On 24 November 2018, Detry won the 2018 World Cup of Golf with partner Thomas Pieters, representing Belgium, at Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia.[11]

In August 2020, Detry twice finished sole runner-up at tournaments on the European Tour, at the Hero Open in Birmingham, England[12] and at the Celtic Classic at Celtic Manor, Wales, both times beaten by Sam Horsfield,[13] and advanced to 75th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Amateur wins

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  • 2009 Riverwoods Junior Open
  • 2010 Belgian National Juniors
  • 2011 Grand Prix AFG, King's Prize, Belgium National Match Play
  • 2012 Championnat de Ligue Amateur, Grand Prix AFG
  • 2013 European Challenge Trophy (individual), Belgian International Amateur, Wolf Run Intercollegiate
  • 2014 Sagamore Fall Preview
  • 2015 Louisiana Classics, Boilermaker Invitational
  • 2016 Big Ten Championship[5]

Source:[8]

Professional wins (2)

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Challenge Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 28 Aug 2016 Bridgestone Challenge −29 (60-67-69-63=259) 12 strokes   Thriston Lawrence

Other wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 25 Nov 2018 ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf
(with   Thomas Pieters)
−23 (63-71-63-68=265) 3 strokes   AustraliaMarc Leishman and Cameron Smith,
  MexicoAbraham Ancer and Roberto Díaz

Playoff record

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European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2021 Abrdn Scottish Open   Matt Fitzpatrick,   Min Woo Lee Lee won with birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship CUT T40 T4
U.S. Open T49 CUT T14
The Open Championship NT CUT T34 T13
  Did not play
  Top 10

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2023 2024
The Players Championship CUT T62

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 2021
Championship T28
Match Play
Invitational
Champions NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Did not play

"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

  • World Cup (representing Belgium): 2018 (winners)
  • Hero Cup (representing Continental Europe): 2023 (winners)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Thomas Detry: biography". European Tour. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Week 24 2024 Ending 16 Jun 2024" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Recordbook VVG Topsportschool" (PDF) (in Dutch). Golfvlaanderen.be. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b Schoonjans, Tim (9 January 2016). "Golfer Thomas Detry: 'Ik kan nummer één worden'" (in Dutch). Bruzz. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Thomas Detry". FightingIllini.com. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Dominant Detry crowned Bridgestone Challenge Champion". European Tour. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Thomas Detry – 2015–16 – Men's Golf". University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  8. ^ a b "World Amateur Golf Ranking, About, Players Turned Pro, Men, Thomas Detry". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Detry moves inside WAGR top 10 after winning the Big Ten Championship". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  10. ^ a b Bogaert, Glenn. "Hoogdag voor Belgische golfsport want Thomas Detry volgt voorbeeld van naamgenoot Pieters" (in Dutch). De Morgen. Belga. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Belgium claim World Cup glory in Melbourne". European Tour. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Horsfield claims maiden win on home soil". European Tour. 2 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Sam Horsfield wins Celtic Classic for second title in three weeks". Golf Channel. Associated Press. 16 August 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  14. ^ "European Boys' Team Championship". European Golf Association. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  15. ^ "European Amateur Team Championship – European Golf Association". 19 October 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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