| Soudal Open | |
| Location: | Antwerp, Belgium |
| Establishment: | 1910 |
| Course: | Rinkven International Golf Club |
| Par: | 71 |
| Yardage: | 6924yd |
| Tour: | European Tour |
| Format: | Stroke play |
| Month Played: | May |
| Aggregate: | 266 Lee Westwood (2000) 266 Nacho Elvira (2024) |
| To-Par: | −18 as above |
| Current Champion: |  Nacho Elvira |
| Coordinates: | 51.2807°N 4.5737°W |
| Map: | Belgium |
| Map Label: | Rinkven International GC |
| Map Relief: | yes |
| Map Size: | 200 |
The Belgian Open is a men's golf tournament which has been played intermittently from 1910 to 2000. All editions since 1978 have been part of the European Tour. After not having been played since 2000, it returned in 2018 as the Belgian Knockout, hosted by PietersProductions, along with its co-founder, Belgian professional golfer Thomas Pieters. With a prize pool set at €1 million, 144 professional golfers start the competition with 36 holes of stroke play, followed by 9-hole match play for the top 64 finishers from the stroke play rounds.[1] [2]
After two years of no European Tour international tournament, the Soudal Open came in 2022. Soudal partnered with Rinkven and once again put on a top international event.
The first ever Belgian Open was played at the Royal Golf Club of Belgium, featuring 36 holes. It was not until 1928 that the competition format expanded to 72 holes. The first edition of the tournament was won by Arnaud Massy, the only Frenchman to win a major championship. Other distinguished champions included Walter Hagen, Henry Cotton, José María Olazábal, Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood. Belgium's most successful 20th century golfer, Flory Van Donck, won his home open five times between 1939 and 1956.
In 2018, PietersProductions took over the organisation of the Belgian Open. After an absence of 18 years, they brought the Belgian Open back to the European Tour. The Belgian Open was reintroduced under the name Belgian Knockout.
The first edition of the Belgian Knockout, which was the 53rd edition of the Belgian Open, took place from 17 to 20 May 2018 at Rinkven International Golf Club, Schilde, Antwerp. In the final, the Spaniard Adrián Otaegui won against Frenchman Benjamin Hébert after four match days. David Drysdale took third place after winning against James Heath.
In 2021, it was announced that the tournament would make a return in 2022 and would revert to a stroke play event. It was sponsored by Soudal, and renamed as the Soudal Open.[3]
There are two rounds of stroke-play on the first two days. The top 64 and ties are credited with prize money and are declared to have advanced under Tour rules. However, in case of a tie for 64th place, there is a playoff if players are tied for 64th place to determine who advances to the knockout stages. Players eliminated in the playoff earn 65th place prize money and are credited with making the cut ("MDF").
In the knock-out stage there are six rounds, each match being over nine holes of stroke-play. Players are seeded based on their position after 36 holes. On the first day of knockout there are three rounds. Half the players use the front nine holes, the other half use the back nine. If the two players are tied after 9 holes there is a sudden-death playoff. There is also a 3rd/4th place playoff. Placings for those who didn't reach the semi-finals are decided firstly by the knockout round reached and, for those who lost in the same round, on their score in the opening 36 holes.
Two major changes will be implemented in 2019 for the event. In order to remove a potential advantage/disadvantage that may happen with some groups, the 144 players are now grouped in two sections of 72 players each. One section plays on the first morning and the second afternoon, the other on the first afternoon and second morning. The top 32 players qualify from each section, each section having a separate playoff if required. The second change applies to the first knockout round. The top 16 players will earn an advantage headed to the first knockout round. If their first-round match is tied after nine holes, they automatically advance.
| Year | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Venue | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soudal Open | ||||||||
| 266 | −18 | 1 stroke | Rinkven International | |||||
| 267 | −17 | 1 stroke | Rinkven International | |||||
| 271 | −13 | 2 strokes | Rinkven International | |||||
| 2020–21: No tournament | ||||||||
| Belgian Knockout | ||||||||
| −3 | 4 strokes | Rinkven International | ||||||
| −3 | 2 strokes | Rinkven International | ||||||
| 2001–2017: No tournament | ||||||||
| Belgacom Open | ||||||||
| Lee Westwood (2) | 266 | −18 | 4 strokes | Royal Zoute | ||||
| 272 | −12 | 1 stroke | Royal Zoute | |||||
| 268 | −16 | Playoff | Royal Zoute | |||||
| 1995–1997: No tournament | ||||||||
| Alfred Dunhill Open | ||||||||
| 279 | −5 | Playoff | Royal Zoute | |||||
| 270 | −14 | 2 strokes | Royal Zoute | |||||
| Piaget Belgian Open | ||||||||
| 274 | −10 | 3 strokes | Royal Zoute | |||||
| Renault Belgian Open | ||||||||
| 276 | −12 | Playoff | Royal Waterloo | |||||
| Peugeot-Trends Belgian Open | ||||||||
| 272 | −16 | 4 strokes | Royal Waterloo | |||||
| Volvo Belgian Open | ||||||||
| 273 | −11 | 4 strokes | Royal Waterloo | |||||
| 269 | −15 | 4 strokes | ||||||
| 200 | −13 | 1 stroke | Royal Waterloo | |||||
| Belgian Open | ||||||||
| 1980–1986: No tournament | ||||||||
| 279 | −5 | 3 strokes | Royal Waterloo | |||||
| 280 | −12 | 1 stroke | Royal GC Belgium | |||||
| 1959–1977: No tournament | ||||||||
| 1958 | 271 | 3 strokes | Royal GC Belgium | [4] | ||||
| 1957 | 280 | Playoff | Royal Latem | [5] | ||||
| 1956 |  Flory Van Donck (5) | 269 | 8 strokes | Royal Latem | [6] | |||
| 1955 | 290 | 1 stroke | Royal GC des Fagnes | [7] | ||||
| 1954 | 287 | 1 stroke | Royal Antwerp | [8] | ||||
| 1953 | Flory Van Donck (4) | 270 | 9 strokes |  Henri de Lamaze (a) | Royal Waterloo | [9] | ||
| 1952 | 286 | 4 strokes | Royal GC des Fagnes | [10] | ||||
| 1951 | 279 | 5 strokes | Royal Latem | [11] | ||||
| 1950 | 282 | 4 strokes | Royal Zoute | [12] | ||||
| 1949 | 283 | 2 strokes | Royal GC des Fagnes | [13] | ||||
| 1948 | 288 | Royal GC Belgium | ||||||
| 1947 | Flory Van Donck (3) | 283 | Royal GC des Fagnes | |||||
| 1946 | Flory Van Donck (2) | 289 | 4 strokes | Royal Waterloo | ||||
| 1940–1945: No tournament due to World War II | ||||||||
| 1939 | 291 | 1 stroke | Royal GC Belgium | [14] | ||||
| 1938 | Henry Cotton (3) | 277 | 13 strokes | Royal Waterloo | [15] | |||
| 1937 | Marcel Dallemagne (2) | 285 | 4 strokes | Royal Zoute | [16] | |||
| 1936 | Auguste Boyer (2) | 285 | 1 stroke | Royal GC des Fagnes | [17] | |||
| 1935 | 283 | Playoff | Royal GC Belgium | [18] | ||||
| 1934 | Henry Cotton (2) | 279 | 3 strokes | Royal Waterloo | [19] | |||
| 1933 | 282 | 3 strokes | Royal GC des Fagnes | [20] | ||||
| 1932 | Arthur Lacey (2) | 291 | 2 strokes | Royal GC Belgium | [21] | |||
| 1931 | 301 | 1 stroke | Royal GC des Fagnes | [22] | ||||
| 1930 | 281 | 11 strokes | Royal GC Belgium | [23] | ||||
| 1929 | 300 | 1 stroke | Royal Antwerp | [24] | ||||
| 1928 | 297 | 3 strokes | Royal GC Belgium | [25] | ||||
| 1927 | 140 | Royal Zoute | ||||||
| 1926 | Aubrey Boomer (2) | 137 | 9 strokes | Royal Zoute | [26] | |||
| 1925 | Eugène Lafitte (2) | 142 | 1 stroke | Royal Antwerp | [27] | |||
| 1924 | 143 | 3 strokes | Zoute | |||||
| 1923 | 145 | 1 stroke | Royal GC Belgium | [28] | ||||
| 1922 | 150 | 1 stroke | Royal GC Belgium | [29] | ||||
| 1921 | 145 | 10 strokes | Royal GC Belgium | |||||
| 1920 | 154 | Playoff | Zoute | [30] | ||||
| 1915–1919: No tournament due to World War I | ||||||||
| 1914 | Tom Ball (2) | 144 | 4 strokes | Royal Antwerp | [31] | |||
| 1913 | 145 | 1 stroke | Lombardsijde | [32] | ||||
| 1912 | 144 | Playoff | Royal GC Belgium | [33] | ||||
| 1911 | 144 | 3 strokes | Royal GC Belgium | [34] | ||||
| 1910 | 139 | 5 strokes | Royal GC Belgium | [35] | ||||