After a 2024 filled with mixed results, LIV Golf's Thomas Pieters is in a positive frame of mind as he begins his 2025 season.
Plying his trade on the LIV Golf League, the Belgian star is set to be one of six LIV players to tee it up at the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour and, after a year that saw him finish 30th in the individual LIV Golf standings, Pieters is hoping to make a strong start to his year.
“I still have one year of my exemption (on the DP World Tour) left and if I want to play my way into form, and get some reps in, then my only thought was how do I get into Dubai?" stated Pieters in an interview with Golf Monthly.
"I’m playing two weeks in a row in Dubai, which has great weather and competition. I get to play in Belgium and, when the LIV season is over, I hopefully get to play Wentworth and those tournaments."
Despite claiming back in March of last year that the standard of play in the LIV Golf League is "10 times better" than that of the DP World Tour, Pieters still holds the circuit to high regard, even revealing that "I have missed those (DP World Tour events) a little bit."
Speaking about his time on the circuit, the former Ryder Cupper explained that: “I miss just playing in Europe. You go to the cool towns like Paris, London and places like that. I’ve never been a fan of playing in America because, when your round is finished, what do you do?
"To me, it’s very different when you play in Prague, or Madrid, or wherever. That’s what I love about my job, so I’ve missed that but, as I said, I’m going to be playing five or six events in Europe, which will be nice."
Despite Pieters' "biggest heartbreak" coming at the Soudal Open in his home country of Belgium in 2024, where he narrowly missed out on victory, the 32-year-old rallied with some fine results at the end of the year, picking up top 15 finishes at the International Series Qatar and Saudi International.
However, the new 4Aces player didn't feature in any Major championships, missing out on all four of men's golf's biggest events in 2024.
A number of LIV players, including Kevin Na, have called for exemptions into the Major events and, with regard to Pieters, he also hopes for something to be done but, in terms of his path to the top four tournaments, he seems content with his decision.
“If you’re in the top 10 of LIV you’re a fantastic golf player and you should be playing at the Majors. Obviously, it is up to all these governing bodies to come together and figure it out but, personally, it’s something that I haven’t really thought about.
"I made the decision, there’s no Majors for me and that’s fine by me. If I happen to play another Major then it would be amazing, obviously, but it’s not on my schedule."
