Golfer Thomas Pieters follows pop star Niall Horan’s direction for contest format

Thomas Pieters has revealed he took inspiration from One Direction’s Niall Horan with regard to the format for this week’s inaugural Belgian Knockout in Antwerp.

The tournament begins with two days in which the 144-man field play regulation strokeplay to establish the top 64, who will play nine-hole matches under a hybrid strokeplay-matchplay format over the weekend. Three rounds of knockout matches, under strokeplay rules, take place on Saturday before the quarter-finals, semi-final, and final take place on Sunday.

Pieters, the host for the event at Rinkven International Golf Club, revealed: “I played a lot of matchplay when I was young and I loved it, I still love it.