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Donald Swaelens

{{Short description|Belgian golfer}}

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Donald Swaelens

| image =

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| fullname = Donald Swaelens

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| birth_date = 1935

| birth_place = Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium

| death_date = {{Death date and given age|1975|04|25|39|df=y}}

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| nationality = {{BEL}}

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| status = Professional

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| extour = European Tour

| prowins = 13

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| masters = DNP

| usopen = DNP

| open = T7: 1974

| pga = DNP

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Donald Swaelens (1935 – 25 April 1975) was a Belgian professional golfer.{{cite book |title=The Who's Who of Golf |first=Peter |last=Alliss |authorlink=Peter Alliss |publisher=Orbis Publishing |year=1983 |isbn=0-85613-520-8 |pages=326–327}}

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,{{cite news |title=AF-sponsored golf to Belgian |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |location=San Francisco, California |date=1 August 1966 |page=54 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/48269946/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=8 April 2020}} the 1967 German Open, and the 1971 Agfa-Gevaert Tournament, also in West Germany.{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/european-stars-and-stripes-aug-16-1971-p-25/ |title=Swaelens cops Agfa golf meet |newspaper=European Stars And Stripes |location=Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany |access-date=20 April 2020 |page=18 |via=Newspaper Archive }}

In 1972, Swaelens joined the European Tour 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 his European Tour career.{{Cite web |url=https://www.europeantour.com/players/993228/career-record |title=Career Records – D. Swaelens |publisher=European Tour |access-date=2020-01-14}} 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 best finish of his career at a major championship.

Until Nicolas Colsaerts played in 2013, he was the only Belgian golfer to be invited to the Masters Tournament,{{cite news |url=http://www.lalibre.be/sports/golf/article/492662/le-royal-latem-a-cent-ans-d-histoires.html |title=Le Royal Latem a cent ans d'histoires |language=French |first=Hugues |last=Feron |newspaper=La Libre Belgique |date=1 April 2009}} although the cancer prevented him from taking part.{{cite news |url=http://archives.lesoir.be/on-s-est-rememore-l-ancien-champion-nicolas-colsaerts-a_t-19980511-Z0F7G5.html |title=On s'est remémoré l'ancien champion Nicolas Colsaerts a remporté le "Donald Swaelens" |language=French |first=Vincent |last=Borremans |newspaper=Le Soir |date=11 May 1998}} Swaelens died two weeks after the 1975 Masters Tournament at the age of 39 from cancer.{{Cite web |url=http://www.etsfielddays2011.ugent.be/GolfLatem.pdf |title=A century of golf in Sint-Martens-Latem |access-date=2015-08-24 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221414/http://www.etsfielddays2011.ugent.be/GolfLatem.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Memorial Tournament

The Donald Swaelens Memorial (later called the Donald Swaelens Challenge) is played each year celebrating his memory.{{cite news |url=http://archives.lesoir.be/les-amateurs-belges-disputent-ce-week-end-le-challenge-_t-19970509-Z0DP6T.html |title=Les amateurs belges disputent ce week-end le challenge Donald Swaelens, l'hommage à un champion modeste |language=French |first=Vincent |last=Borremans |newspaper=Le Soir |date=9 May 1997}} The tournament was originally an 8-man professional tournament sponsored by Laurent-Perrier but is now an amateur tournament.

Winners of the trophy include:

Professional wins

=European circuit wins (4)=

=Other wins (9)=

Results in major championships

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1958

!1959

align=left|The Open Championship

|T11

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1960

!1961

!1962

!1963

!1964

!1965

!1966

!1967

!1968

!1969

align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|23

|44

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|CUT

|T30

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1970

!1971

!1972

!1973

!1974

align=left|The Open Championship

|CUT

|T49

|CUT

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

Note: Swaelens only played in The Open Championship.

{{legend|yellow|Top 10}}

{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}}

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1968 and 1970)

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{EuroTour player|993228}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swaelens, Donald}}

Category:Belgian male golfers

Category:European Tour golfers

Category:Sportspeople from East Flanders

Category:People from Sint-Martens-Latem

Category:1935 births

Category:1975 deaths

Category:20th-century Belgian sportsmen