Guido Migliozzi Wins the 2024 KLM Open

Guido Migliozzi has won the 104th edition of the KLM Open. At The International near Amsterdam, the Italian emerged victorious in a thrilling play-off. Joost Luiten was the best-performing Dutchman, finishing in 15th place. The tournament drew 40,000 spectators over four days, with the largest crowd on Sunday.

The winner was not Mikko Korhonen, who led for three of the four days. When the tension reached its peak, the Finn faltered under pressure. Even prominent names and multiple winners like Rasmus Højgaard, Matt Wallace, and Matteo Manassero failed to finish in promising positions. From a group of more than ten contenders, three unexpected players were left to battle it out in a play-off: Marcus Kinhult, Joe Dean, and Guido Migliozzi. That trio would have needed a score of -11, which Korhonen had started the day with, to suffice.

Indescribable
It briefly brought back memories of the legendary three-player play-off at the 1989 KLM Open at Noordwijk, where José María Olazábal only managed to shake off Roger Chapman and Ronan Rafferty after nine holes. This play-off, however, did not last as long. After all three players made birdies on the first extra hole, Dean and Kinhult faltered on the replay of the 18th. As a result, Migliozzi secured victory with another birdie.

“This is an indescribable feeling,” the Italian stammered afterward. He briefly reflected on hole 10, where he lost his ball and recovered it just after the allowed three-minute search time. As a result, he had to hit a new ball. “Which I hit perfectly. Then I thought: if I can handle this, I can handle anything. After that, I never thought it was over. It’s so amazing to stand here as the winner.”

Third Italian Winner
Migliozzi is by no means a rookie on the tour and already has three wins to his name. The 27-year-old Italian from Vicenza had an excellent year in 2019, claiming victories in Kenya and Belgium (defeating Darius van Driel in a knockout).

The last tournament Migliozzi won was the 104th edition of the Open de France in 2022. Now, he has claimed the 104th edition of the KLM Open. He is the third Italian to win this tournament and the first since 1955.

This triumph also guarantees him a spot in The Open next month. The second qualifying ticket for the major goes to Joe Dean, based on his higher world ranking.

Messenger Boy
This also gave Joe Dean’s story a remarkable twist. The soon-to-be birthday boy from England (still 29 for now) earned his tour card at the DP World Tour Q-School late last year but was forced to put his debut year on tour on hold after just one tournament in Qatar due to a lack of funds.

To cover his travel and accommodation expenses, Dean took a job as a delivery driver for a supermarket chain. Once he had saved enough to enter the tournament in Kenya, everything changed rapidly. Darius van Driel claimed victory there, but Dean, approaching his 30th birthday, finished second and earned $200,000. Since then, he has left grocery deliveries behind. This week’s KLM Open was only his sixth tournament on the DP World Tour.

Luiten Best Dutchman
The Dutch players no longer played a significant role in the title race on the final day. Joost Luiten made some costly mistakes early in his final round, dimming his chances of a top ranking. Later, however, he recovered well, narrowly securing a place in the top 15. On the last hole, he received a winner’s welcome and rewarded the crowd with a birdie, completing his fourth round under par this week. “The crowd at the KLM Open is always fantastic. That’s one of the reasons why playing here feels almost like a major,” Luiten said.

Looking ahead to the next two years, when the KLM Open will also be held at The International, Luiten hopes the course will be slightly adjusted. “I’m not the only one who thinks so. On certain holes, good shots are punished instead of rewarded, and that shouldn’t happen.”

The Bleiswijker attributed not being in contention for the win until the very end to his putting. “It just wasn’t good enough this week. My quality doesn’t come through on these bumpy greens, and I struggled to read the putts. On top of that, I made bogeys on the easier holes, which is disastrous. Because of that, I never really connected with the leaders.”

Gerard de Wit Medal
Joost Luiten, winner of the KLM Open in 2013 and 2016, received the Gerard de Wit medal as the best Dutch player. He was the top “home player” by four strokes. Lars van Meijel, who finished 29th, was the second-best Dutchman. The Brabander could still look back on a good week, despite playing his worst round of the four today.

The best compatriot on the final 18 holes was Daan Huizing with 67 strokes, including a hole-in-one. It was the fourth of the tournament this week but Huizing’s first on the DP World Tour. He shared 38th place in the final standings with compatriot Wil Besseling, who, like Van Meijel, is a player on the Challenge Tour this season.

Van der Vight Best Amateur
Lars van der Vight was the only amateur to make the cut after two rounds, finishing as the best amateur in 60th place. This achievement also comes with an annual prize: the Robbie van Erven Dorens Trophy.

Wouter de Vries couldn’t maintain his strong scores from the first two days over the weekend, but the fact that he had come this far could be considered a small surprise. He finished 65th.

Nine of the fifteen Dutch players who started the tournament were eliminated after 36 holes on Friday.