Maarten Lafeber

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Maarten Lafeber
Maarten Lafeber.JPG
Personal information
Born (1974-12-11) 11 December 1974 (age 50)
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight166 lb (75 kg; 11.9 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Residence Lake Nona, Florida, U.S.
Career
Turned professional1997
Former tour(s) European Tour
Challenge Tour
Professional wins2
Highest ranking 88 (17 July 2005) [1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
Challenge Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
PGA Championship CUT: 2005
U.S. Open CUT: 2003, 2006, 2011
The Open Championship T41: 2005

Maarten Lafeber (born 11 December 1974) is a Dutch professional golfer who won the Dutch, Swiss and Spanish amateur championships before turning professional in 1997.

Contents

Lafeber was born in Eindhoven, North Brabant. He earned a European Tour card at the first attempt, but lost it at the end of 1998. After spending time on the second tier Challenge Tour, where he won the 1999 Tusker Kenya Open, he regained his place on the main tour for the 2000 season. In 2003 he became the first home player to win the Dutch Open since Joop Rühl 1947, and that remains his only win on the European Tour. [2] In July 2005 he reached a career high ranking of 88 in the World Golf Ranking.

Lafeber once sold shares in himself to Dutch businessmen to help finance his career. [3]

Personal life

In June 2025, Lafeber's son Guus made his debut appearance at the KLM Open as an amateur, where Maarten acted as his caddy. [4] Later in August 2025, Guus went on to win the Boys Amateur Championship at County Louth Golf Club in Ireland. [5]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (2)

European Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runners-up
112 Oct 2003 Dutch Open −13 (67-69-64-67=267)1 stroke Flag of Sweden.svg Mathias Grönberg, Flag of Denmark.svg Søren Hansen

Challenge Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
114 Mar 1999 Tusker Kenya Open −19 (66-66-69-64=265)3 strokes Flag of Sweden.svg Erik Andersson

Results in major championships

Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
U.S. Open CUTCUT
The Open Championship CUTCUTT41
PGA Championship CUT
Tournament20102011
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Note: Lafeber never played in the Masters Tournament.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. "Week 29 2005 Ending 17 Jul 2005" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. "Lafeber claims maiden win". BBC Sport. 12 October 2003. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  3. "Harrington puts the pressure on Lafeber". The Irish Times. 23 November 2002. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  4. "A very special moment for Maarten and Guus Lafeber at the KLM Open". KLM Open. 4 June 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  5. "Guus Lafeber wins the R&A Boys' Amateur at County Louth". Irish Golfer. 16 August 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  6. "EGA Events, Results, European Team Championships, European Youths' Team Championship". European Golf Association. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2023.