Colsaerts realising childhood dream

Two armchair viewing experiences crystallise the story of Nicolas Colsaerts’ journey to a Ryder Cup debut this weekend in Chicago.

The first ever Belgian to represent Europe in the competition, 29-year-old Colsaerts is realising a childhood dream that was first stoked by watching the events unfold from Kiawah Island at the 1991 Ryder Cup. He was a nine-year-old wannabe golfer in a country where the sport had not remotely entered the national consciousness and is only now coming to terms with the fact it has a Ryder Cup golfer amongst its population.

“I was watching Kiawah, and even though I was nine, I felt that it was a pretty big thing. And only growing up after, I realised that I wanted to be part of it,” Colsaerts said yesterday as he sat proudly in his blue team uniform at the Medinah Country Club.