Ryder Cup hero announces retirement from golf at end of DP World Tour season
Former Ryder Cup star Nicolas Colsaerts will retire from professional golf shortly after he makes his 500th DP World Tour start next month.
Nicolas Colsaerts has announced that he will retire from competitive golf at the end of the DP World Tour season.
The 42-year-old made the surprise revelation over the weekend of the Open de France in an interview with Canal+, admitting he was "a bit fried" after 25 years as a professional golfer.
Colsaerts is best known for his historic Ryder Cup performance in the Miracle at Medinah in 2012, when he became the first Belgian to play in the contest.
He put on an astonishing display on the opening day in Chicago, making eight birdies and an eagle with his own ball as he and Lee Westwood beat Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in the afternoon fourballs.
Colsaerts was one of Luke Donald's assistant captains at the last Ryder Cup in Rome, but he recently expressed his disappointment at not retaining that role for Bethpage Black, with Donald appointing Alex Noren instead.
Colsaerts has won 10 professional titles worldwide including three on the DP World Tour, the last of which was at the Open de France in 2019.
The "Belgian Bomber" will become only the 48th player to make 500 DP World Tour starts when he tees it up at next month's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an event he was runner-up in last year.
"The ball was a blur."
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) September 16, 2025
Nicolas Colsaerts discusses the nerves from playing in the Ryder Cup 🥵 pic.twitter.com/ThEp2m4X7u
Colsaerts, who has not posted a top-10 finish in 25 events this season, will call time on his career shortly afterwards.
"I've been contemplating the idea of hanging up my clubs for two or three years, because life makes things a bit complicated to manage," said Colsaerts, who was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease three years ago.
“I no longer have the energy to play 25 to 30 weeks a year to try to pick up half a point here and there. I'm a bit fried.
“Ultimately the decision was made a while ago. I was already supposed to retire last year and then there was this miracle at the Dunhill where I finished second and I realised that I can reach 500 (tournaments) which was something close to my heart.
“Even before my runner-up finish, it was one thing that bothered me, not having managed to play 500 tournaments. I've been here on the circuit for 25 years, since 2001.
"With ups and downs at the beginning, but I'm part of the furniture.
“I know I've been pushing myself to the limit for a long time, but these are my last weeks on the DP World Tour."
Keith Jackson joined GolfMagic's content team during the summer of 2025.
He has over 25 years' experience in the sports journalism industry, with almost 20 of those spent in digital media at Sky Sports, including seven years as digital editor for golf content.
