At the Soudal Open in Antwerp, he was the sensation of the tournament. Two weeks later, on the opening day of the 102nd edition of the Dutch Open, Lev Grinberg (Ukraine) fails to deliver another thunderous surprise. However, with his age of 14 years and 200 days, he is the youngest participant ever in the international golf tournament in the Netherlands.
What is good comes quickly. And as far as Lev Grinberg is concerned, that’s not fast enough. Two weeks ago he made a big impression with his golf game in Antwerp during the Soudal Open, a tournament of the DP World Tour. Grinberg simply beat older and more experienced men home. Joost Luiten was one of them, the two-time winner of the Dutch Open did not make the cut. Grinberg did with rounds of 70 and 69 strokes. Of the 155 golfers who started, 88 did not survive qualifying for the weekend.
Lev is really special, that boy has something. If you make the cut at a European tournament as a 14-year-old, you can really do something
Nobody cared that Grinberg scored less well on Saturday and Sunday in Antwerp. The extremely young golfer had stolen the hearts of the fans at the highest level. Also that of Daan Slooter, director of the Dutch Open, which is being played for the second time in a row these days at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt. Slooter still had a spot open for an international amateur player and decided to give the ticket to Grimberg.
golf teenager
“We are a tournament that always pays attention to young talent and youth,” explains Slooter about the golf teenager’s presence. “I was 15 years old when I first played at the Dutch Open. I didn’t make the cut, so I know what Lev is going through. It’s exciting, everything is new. If it’s good, then it’s fantastic. If you play badly, you think you’re getting in the way and you want to leave as soon as possible. Despite his lesser score today (Lev comes in on +10 tricks, ed.), this day is very important to him. It helps him develop from young talent to top golfer.”
To be honest, says Slooter, he did not expect Grinberg to flame again in his second senior tournament in a row and to play with the best men again. „I saw in Antwerp that he played very well in the first two rounds and made the cut. Then I was very curious what that would do to him. You saw over the weekend that he performed less well, which can be explained logically.”
Slooter continues: “By letting Lev play here again in a strong field of participants, he can test himself again. We would like to help him with that. These two tournaments are very important for his development, he learns more than a whole season here with the youth. But if Lev made the cut here again, I would have been very surprised.”
Hectic
Unlike the golf course in Antwerp, Bernardus in Cromvoirt was unfamiliar territory for Grinberg. He has lived in the Belgian city for five years, after his father had left Ukraine for Belgium due to work. Since then, Rinkven has been the home course of the young golfer, who also has a Belgian passport and after the Soudal Open was mainly busy answering the countless messages he had received. And practicing his signature, which golf fans have been asking for and which was also a new experience for him. “The first few days it was hectic, but now my life is back to the way it was before the tournament,” says the protagonist after his first day of competition at the Dutch Open.
I’m going for every pin on Friday and I want to make a birdie on every hole
Grinberg hands in his scorecard after his first eighteen holes with a grumpy face. It shows seven bogeys (one stroke over par) and a triple bogey, for a total of +10 tricks. “Today was not his good day, I played really terrible. I played horrible†
Age is just a number
Nothing went his way, a disappointed Grinberg must admit. “From the start it was bad, didn’t run. After the first nine holes I changed my game plan and went for pars instead of birdies,” said the eager and ambitious golfer. Grinberg immediately and resolutely dismisses the suggestion that he should not be judged on a lesser score because he is only 14 years young. “Age is just a number. This is golf and today was not good.”
He promises a better score on day 2 of the Dutch Open. “I go for every pin on Friday (the flag in the hole, ed.) and I want to make a birdie on every hole.”
Top athlete in heart and kidneys
Slooter smiles when he hears those words. “He is a top athlete in heart and soul, they always want the best. If you don’t go into the job with that attitude, things will never work out. And who knows, he might make a four or five under tomorrow (Friday, ed.), we’ll talk about that fantastic score from him for a week.”
It does not matter much to the Dutch Open director whether the resident of Antwerp is still there this weekend, it does not change his opinion about Grinberg. “Lev is really special, that boy has something. If you make the cut at a European tournament as a 14-year-old, you can really do something. I hope to see him play many more times at our tournament in the future.”
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