By John Tully-Jackson
Thomas Detry gave little hint of the scorching 64 he carded Saturday when he limped to a T-76 finish at the BMW SA Open last week. Fortunately the 25-year-old’s latent form, honed at a practice camp with some better-known Belgian compatriots over winter, has caught up with him just in time for the final round of the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship.

Detry enters Sunday just three shots off the -17 pace set by countryman Thomas Pieters and Englishman Ross Fisher and within sight of a maiden European Tour title to go with the Challenge Tour crown he collected in Oxfordshire two years ago.

“Yeah, we’ve got a strong Team Belgium out here on Tour. We had a Team Belgium campus training down in southern France. It was a lot of fun with Nico [Colsaerts], TP [Thomas Pieters] and my two coaches. It’s a great way to get ready for the season,” said Detry.

“Last week was a little difficult but it was a good way to get it going again and find a rhythm for this week.”

The time amongst friends has worked its magic. Despite having a new caddy on the bag, the 2017 BMW International Open runner-up looked right at home on The National.

“I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. 17, I missed it right off the tee but a lot of stress-free golf. I had a lot of 4-, 5-, 6-footers right-to-left, left-to-right with a
little bit of grain. So you have to be careful with those. I just managed pretty well, so pretty pleased with the way I played.”

Save for a monster putt from off the far side of the green on 17 and another birdie try that burnt the edge on 18, Saturday’s eight under circuit looked very comfortable. While the Belgian’s driver was mainly solid on moving day, it was the flat-stick that really made the score.

“Today the putter was hotter and I hit some close ones and made some good putts, like the one on 17, that was a bonus. So very pleased with the way I’m playing golf and I’m excited for the rest of the season.

“For some reason I get hot, and out here, I hit a few good tee shots and I left myself short irons into the greens. I hit them close and I was able to read the line properly. That’s it. Sounds easy but it’s tougher to do that than to actually say it.”