Lars van Meijel is targeting a win on home soil when he tees it up at this week’s B-NL Challenge Trophy at Twentsche Golfclub in the Netherlands.
The Dutchman returns to his home country in red hot form having registered three top ten finishes in his last three starts to surge up to tenth in the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
The 28-year-old kick-started his season by finishing tied fourth in India at The Challenge presented by KGA, before seventh and third place finishes in back-to-back events in the UAE saw him climb into the top 20 of the Rankings for the first time this season.
Van Meijel is looking for another strong outing this week in familiar conditions to help propel him back on to the DP World Tour.
“The last three events I’ve played really well,” he said. “The second week in India I had a two-shot lead going into the last round, so it was a disappointing not to hold on but it gave me confidence that I was working on the right things and that I was on the right path.
“I’ve just tried to build on that performance, taking it week-by-week and trying to grind it out every week as if every shot matters. That’s the mentality you have to have, no matter if you’re playing for 30th place or 5th place. The last three starts I’ve been putting well and hitting the ball well, so these results have come because of that.”
Van Meijel is aiming to return to the winner’s circle on the Challenge Tour for the first time since 2019 where he triumphed at the Hopps Open de Provence at Golf International de Pont Royal in France. There, he carded a blemish free five under par final round to win by one stroke, and he’s hoping to replicate that feat this week.
“You hear a lot about the process in golf, but it is something you work on week in week out, and at some point it falls your way,” he said. “That’s how it felt that week. I’d been in contention a couple of months before so I brought that experience with me.
“A win on any tour is special, so I took that confidence with me. I always felt like I could win, but to actually do it gave me a lot of satisfaction and belief, and it also supported the work I’d been doing.
“Hopefully another win is coming soon. I know I’m working on the right things, so I’ve just got to keep trying to get better.”
Van Meijel joins a strong field in the Netherlands this week, which includes seven-time DP World Tour winner Alvaro Quiros, UAE Challenge winner Maximilian Rottluff and Road to Mallorca Number Two JJ Senekal.
The B-NL Challenge Trophy will get underway at 7.30am local time, with Van Meijel teeing it up alongside Rottluff and Englishman James Allan at 12.50pm.
