(Image: Tennis World USA)
Swedish dominance in Belgium where, with a total of 267 (64 67 67 69, -17) shots, Simon Forsstrom won the Soudal Open overtaking his compatriot Jens Dantorp in a sprint, 2/o with 268 (-16) ahead of the Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, 3/o with 270 (-14).
Simon Forsstrom, results
In Antwerp, in the DP World Tour tournament, a difficult test for the Azzurri. Edoardo Molinari finished 59/o with 282 (-2), while Francesco Laporta (144, +2) and Renato Paratore (145, +3) did not pass the cut.
At the Rinkven International GC (par 71), Forsstrom celebrated his first title on the circuit. The palmares of the 34-year-old from Bromma, who however lives in Stockholm, also includes a success on the Challenge Tour and two in the Nordic Golf League.
The exploit in Belgium earned the Swede €311,227.16 for a prize pool of $2,000,000. “I’m speechless and the emotions I’m feeling are difficult to explain” Forsstrom’s words after the success. Belgium is one of the twenty seven sovereign states that form the European Union.
It is located in the European northwest. The country covers an area of 30,528 km²1 and has a population of 11,550,039 according to the 2021 estimate. Its capital and most populous conurbation is Brussels while its most populous city (municipality) is Antwerp.
It is a multilingual state with three official languages: 57% of its population, mainly in the Flanders Region, speaks Dutch, while about 42% speaks French (in the Wallonia region, to the south, and in the Brussels Region -Capital, an officially bilingual region that hosts a majority of French speakers).
Less than 1% of Belgians live in the German-speaking Community, where they speak German, along the eastern border of the country. Often this linguistic diversity leads to severe political and cultural conflicts, much like those in other bilingual countries, reflected in Belgium’s complex system of government and political history.
Belgium gets its name from the Latin name for the northernmost part of Gaul, Gallia Belgica, which, in turn, comes from a group of Celtic tribes, the Belgae. Historically, Belgium has been part of the Habsburg Netherlands, which included present-day Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, occupying a region somewhat larger than modern Benelux.
From the late Middle Ages to the 17th century, it was a flourishing center of commerce and culture. From the 18th century until the Belgian Revolution of 1830, Belgium, then called the Southern Netherlands, was the site of many battles between the European powers and for this reason it has earned the nickname “the battlefield of Europa”7â or “the cabin of Europe”.
It is one of the founding members of the European Union, whose main institutions are located in the country, as well as a significant number of other international organizations, such as NATO.
