Donald Swaelens (1935 – 25 April 1975) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Golf career

Like his father Jules, Swaelens made his career as a club professional at Royal Latem Golf Club. He also worked as a touring professional, intermittently playing on the European circuit. He won the 1966 Woodlawn Tournament, played at the Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, the 1967 German Open, and the 1971 Agfa-Gevaert Tournament, also in West Germany. In 1972, Swaelens joined the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

during its inaugural season. In 1973, he finished tied for second, with Dale Hayes, in the Viyella PGA Championship held at Wentworth, three shots behind Peter Oosterhuis. This would be the best finish of the his European Tour career. In 1974, he finished third in the Dutch Open at Koninklijke Haagsche Golf & Country Club. He also finished T-7 at that year's

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, the best finish of his career at a major championship. Until Nicolas Colsaerts played in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, he was the only Belgian golfer to be invited to the Masters Tournament, although the cancer prevented him from taking part. Swaelens died two weeks after the

1975 Masters Tournament The 1975 Masters Tournament was the 39th Masters Tournament, held April 10–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Jack Nicklaus won his fifth Masters and thirteenth major title, one stroke ahead of runners-up Johnny Miller and At ...

at the age of 39 from cancer.

Memorial Tournament

The Donald Swaelens Memorial (later called the Donald Swaelens Challenge) is played each year celebrating his memory. The tournament was originally an 8-man professional tournament sponsored by Laurent-Perrier but is now an amateur tournament. Winners of the trophy include: *1976 Seve Ballesteros *1977 Nick Faldo *1978 Nick Faldo *1993 Lara Tadiotto *1995 Arnaud Langenaeken *1998 Nicolas Colsaerts (when 15 years old)

Professional wins

European circuit wins (4)

*1966 Woodlawn International Invitational, Omnium International d'Evian *1967 German Open *1971 Agfa-Gevaert Tournament

Other wins (9)

*1958

Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament The Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at the Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. The event was held annually from 1953 to 1966. From 1953 to 1957 it was called the Gleneagles-Saxone Foursom ...

(with Ian McDonald) *1966

Memorial Olivier Barras The Mémorial Olivier Barras is a professional golf tournament that is held annually at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland. It was founded in 1965 in memory of Olivier Barras, a nine-time Swiss champion golfer who di ...

*1967 Omnium of Belgium,

*1969 Omnium of Belgium *1970 Omnium of Belgium *1971 Omnium of Belgium *1972 Omnium of Belgium *1973 Omnium of Belgium

Results in major championships

''Note: Swaelens only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1968 and 1970)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(representing Belgium):

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, 1965, 1966,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

, 1971,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, 1974 *

Joy Cup The Joy Cup was an annual men's professional team golf competition between teams representing the British Isles and the Rest of Europe. It was played from 1954 to 1958. The British Isles won all four contests that were played. The trophy was provi ...

(representing the Rest of Europe): 1958 *

Double Diamond International The Double Diamond International was a team golf tournament that was played from 1971 to 1977. It was hosted in England for the first three years, and then in Scotland. From 1974 and 1977 the event was preceded by an individual 36-hole stroke pla ...

(representing Continental Europe): 1972, 1973, 1974 (captain) *

Marlboro Nations' Cup The Philip Morris International was a professional team golf tournament, played from 1972 and 1976. The 1972 and 1973 tournaments were called the Marlboro Nations' Cup. There was no tournament in 1974 but the event was played in 1975 and 1976 under ...

(representing Belgium): 1972, 1973 * Sotogrande Match (representing the Continent of Europe): 1974

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swaelens, Donald Belgian male golfers European Tour golfers Sportspeople from East Flanders People from Sint-Martens-Latem 1935 births 1975 deaths