Staff WriterWell, Joost Luiten didn’t just sleep in his own bed – he might as well have birdied it.
The Dutchman, fuelled by home comforts and the short drive across the border to Belgium, opened the Soudal Open with a blistering six-under-par 65, giving himself a share of the first-round lead at Rinkven International Golf Club.
Luiten, who knows these parts better than a stroopwafel vendor at a Sunday market, made a flying start on a course he could probably play blindfolded.
He joined Canada’s Aaron Cockerill and Spain’s Angel Ayora at the top, all carding 65s to set the early pace in Antwerp.
Starting on the back nine, Luiten found his rhythm early. The six-time DP World Tour winner turned in three-under, then clicked into overdrive with birdies at 18, 1, and 2 – the kind of stretch that makes the scorecard blush.
A wobble came with a bogey at the third, but he dusted it off with a birdie at the fourth and an eagle at the fifth. That’s what you call a two-hole bounce-back, or in his case, a jetpack.
Joost Luiten: Six under, 65, is a good round of golf. I had five birdies, an eagle, and two bogeys. The bogeys always sting a bit, but on a tricky golf course with tough wind, it happens. You’ve just got to accept it. Luckily, I made enough birdies and that eagle to keep the momentum going.
It definitely helps that I can sleep at home this week. It feels like a home week for me. It’s just over the border — I used to live here in Belgium for three years, so I know this place pretty well. It’s nice to be close to home and playing courses that are familiar.
The 38-year-old added another bogey at the sixth but steadied the ship with three closing pars to post the clubhouse target. It was a performance dripping with familiarity and poise – the kind of golf that makes the local fans reach for their phones to text their mates: “Joost is on one.”
Joining him at the summit, Ayora looked set to snatch the outright lead but handed it back with a bogey on his final hole.
Cockerill, meanwhile, delivered a surgical, bogey-free round – the kind of effort that doesn’t so much demand attention as politely insist upon it. It marked the Canadian’s lowest score of the 2025 Race to Dubai and a timely return to form.
Aaron Cockerill: I played very well today, stress-free. I don’t know if I had a par putt much longer than three feet, a lot of greens, a lot of fairways. I like this course. I’ve had decent results here last year, so I’m happy to be back.
It’s a bit firm and brown in spots, so if you miss the green in the wrong spot, it’s just going to bounce further away from the hole and you’re going to be dead in a few areas.
Not able to get it up and down. I just was able to keep it in front of me and keep it on the greens and not end up short sided at all and that made the day a lot more enjoyable.
Just one shot back sits a trio with serious intentions. South African Thriston Lawrence looked sharp on his first lap of the European Swing.
He’s joined by American Sean Crocker – a man who swings like he’s angry at the ball – and England’s Marco Penge, who is starting to make ‘Penge Power’ sound less like a nickname and more like a movement.
The 27-year-old Penge, fresh off his maiden DP World Tour victory at the Hainan Classic and a respectable tie for 28th in his PGA Championship debut at Quail Hollow, is clearly not in Belgium just for the waffles.
Marco Penge: Last week was massive for me. I told all my friends and family that it felt like a win. Just proving to myself that I’m good enough to compete against the best players in the world.
Seeing some of the stats — being second from tee to green over four rounds — was a big confidence booster. Especially in my first time playing in front of American crowds at a major in the U.S. It’s really shown me that I’m doing the right things, and I just need to keep going.
Back at Rinkven, the Soudal Open is already shaping into a clash of styles and stories – from the local lad making himself at home, to the Spaniard still trying to close one out, and a Canadian who put his snow boots away in favour of hot irons.
And while we’re only one round in, if Joost Luiten keeps this up, the locals may not just be waving flags – they might be planning a parade.
