Five things to know: Thomas Detry

PINEHURST, N.C. – The name Thomas Detry might not yet resonate with casual golf fans, but he’s far from a Cinderella story.

Detry, 31, will contend into the weekend at the U.S. Open, after opening the week in 1-under 69 at Pinehurst No. 2. He charged up the leaderboard in Friday's second round with a 3-under 67 to head into the weekend at 4-under. The Belgian hasn’t yet won on the PGA TOUR or DP World Tour, but his career trajectory has steadily built to this point. Detry entered the U.S. Open at No. 55 on the Official World Golf Ranking and at No. 28 on the FedExCup. His form in major championships has been trending upward as well – he finished fourth at last month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, after placing T13 at last summer’s Open Championship.

Here are five things to know about Detry, who is positioned to tussle with major champions like Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Bryson DeChambeau – and other elite talents seeking their first major like Patrick Cantlay and Ludvig Åberg – on a star-studded weekend leaderboard in the Carolina Sandhills.

He crossed the pond to play college golf

Detry was born in Uccle, Belgium, south of Brussels, and he started playing golf at age 5. He also played tennis and field hockey, but golf moved to the forefront around age 11 or 12 – he started playing in international golf tournaments at age 13, and he was part of the winning Belgian team at the 2010 European Boys’ Team Championship; he also competed in the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup. His play attracted the attention of Illinois men’s golf coach Mike Small – highly respected for his ability to develop talent – and he competed for the Fighting Illini from 2012 to 2016, also studying business management. He turned pro in spring 2016 and won on the Challenge Tour that summer to begin his ascent in the professional game.

He’s an accomplished world player

Prior to earning his first TOUR card for the 2023 season, Detry was a seasoned DP World Tour veteran. He hasn’t yet won on the circuit, but he has recorded five runner-up finishes and five third-place showings. He has steadily climbed the world ranking; he cracked the top 100 in 2020, and he entered the U.S. Open at No. 55.

In 2012, Nicolas Colsaerts became the first Belgian to play for the Ryder Cup’s European Team. Based on his career trajectory, Detry – who counts Colsaerts as a friend and asset to his game – is tracking toward becoming the second. No Belgian has ever won on the PGA TOUR; Detry has been close (he finished runner-up at this year’s Texas Children’s Houston Open), and he’ll have another chance to break through this weekend.

He earned his TOUR card through a now-defunct format

Detry took advantage of a prior qualification format to earn his TOUR card, qualifying for the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals (a three-event series that awarded 25 TOUR cards) by way of accruing enough non-member FedExCup points to have ranked inside the top 200 on the standings. Detry did so in just five TOUR starts, finishing T34 or better in all five.

This format no longer exists, as the Korn Ferry Tour Finals is now solely comprised of the top players on the Korn Ferry Tour season-long standings (no qualification via TOUR merit). In the final year of that system, though, Detry maximized his opportunity.

The Olympics are on his mind

Detry represented Belgium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and he’s on track for a second appearance in Paris this summer. It will be nearly a home game, as Paris is roughly 200 miles from his hometown of Uccle, Belgium. He’s friends with some members of Belgium’s field hockey team – a popular sport in his home country – and he hopes to attend field hockey games and tennis matches when time permits. “I’m looking forward to really enjoying the whole Olympics atmosphere,” he told PGATOUR.COM earlier this year.

He once set a Guinness World Record

In June 2019, Detry set a record for fastest hole of golf by an individual, as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. He played the 500-yard, par-4 10th hole at Real Club de Golf Guadalmina in Marbella, Spain in 1 minute, 29 seconds, in a video captured and posted by the DP World Tour’s content team.