Flory Van Donck

An early pioneer in European golf, Flory Van Donck was an unmistakable figure at The Open throughout the 1950s.

Among the greatest golfers to have emerged from Belgium, Van Donck was a silky putter with an unorthodox style that saw him keep the toe of his putter in the air.

Born in 1912, he was twice a runner-up at The Open.

He came closest in 1959 when he finished two strokes shy of Gary Player at Muirfield having missed out by three strokes three years earlier at Hoylake.

The Tervuren-born player reached the top five in every Championship from 1955 to 1960, and made the top ten eight times in the 50s.

It’s fair to say he enjoyed dominance of the Belgian domestic scene, winning the national title 12 times.

In 1960 he won the Trophee National du Merite Sportif, the highest honour available to a Belgian athlete, won by the likes of Eddy Merckx and Kim Clijsters, the only golfer to do so.