“Dumbest thing I’ve ever done” – Thomas Pieters on skipping 2017 Players Championship


“Dumbest thing I’ve ever done” – Thomas Pieters on skipping 2017 Players Championship

Thomas Pieters

Belgian golfer Thomas Pieters had decided to skip the 2017 Players Championship with a thought to go home. However, he had no idea what he was going to miss at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

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During a recent media interview, Pieters recalled his this decision and termed it as one of the “dumbest” ones. Notably, he had been dreaming of it since he was a kid back in Belgium, and he eschewed it to ski the Alps with his buddies.

“Thinking about it now, it’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever done probably,” he said. “I mean, look around, this tournament looks unbelievable. And I said no to it.”

“I hated my life at that point,” Pieters, who will make his Players debut this week, says. “This is a lonely place for Europeans sometimes. Everybody has their cliques and travels with their families, which I get. I totally get. But I didn’t know anybody out here. I had nothing to look forward to after rounds.”

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“Just spending so many nights alone in a hotel room”

Thomas Pieters
Thomas Pieters

Talking about today, Thomas is years older and now more comfortable with his choices. He is the rare 30-year-old European Ryder Cup star and a perennial top-50 player in the world ranking.

“Just spending so many nights alone in a hotel room, so many dinners by myself. It was different in Europe because I had the Belgians I could hang out with. Yeah, I was lonely and I was going back and forth so much, and I had just had enough.”

My countryman [Nicolas] Colsaerts said the same thing: When you reach the Ryder Cup the feelings you have there, you never get them in any other tournament,” Pieters says. “Not even a major if you’re in contention. So, so different. You chase that, and then every week is kind of a disappointment in the lack of buzz. You don’t get that feel. You start to lose focus and your week-to-week goals are like, ehhh.”

Also Read | “Didn’t get here alone” – Tiger Woods delivers emotional speech at World Golf Hall of Fame induction

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