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STELLENBOSCH, South Africa -- Joost Luiten had an eagle and
four birdies on the final five holes to give the Netherlands an
improbable two-stroke victory over Canada on Sunday in the World
Amateur Team Championship. "His nickname is Pyromaniac and he went on fire," Dutch coach
Chris van der Velde after the country's first Eisenhower Trophy
win. The 20-year-old Luiten finished with a 5-under 67, and teammate
Wil Besseling added a 70 to take individual honors at 13-under 275.
With only the top two scores from the three-man team counting in
the total, the Dutch finished at 22-under 544. After bogeying three of his previous four holes, Luiten birdied
the par-5 14th on the De Zalze Golf Club course, holed a sand wedge
from 93 yards for eagle on the par-4 15th and closed with three
birdies. "It just happened," Luiten said. "After 15, I knew I was in
the zone." Canada's Richard Scott shot a 68 and James Love had a 69. "We didn't lose it," Canadian captain Doug Roxburgh. "The
Netherlands won it. They made the birdies coming home." The United States finished third at 19 under, with Trip Kuehne
and Chris Kirk closing with 69s. "The Netherlands played great," Kuehne said. "What Joost did
out there is the stuff of legends."
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