Winning a professional golf tournament is hard... It's a well-known fact, but few have come to appreciate that sentiment more in the past few weeks than Thomas Detry, who holds a share of the lead after two rounds at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The Belgian turned professional in 2016 but has yet to win an individual event on either the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour.
The 31-year-old did claim a win on the Challenge Tour back in 2016, as well as the IPSP World Cup of Golf crown alongside fellow countryman Thomas Pieters in 2018, but he is still searching for that first big win.
Last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, Detry held a one-shot lead as he looked to close out his second round at Torrey Pines. One cruel mistake later and the Belgian's lead evaporated, a double bogey seeing him drop two behind Stephan Jager heading into the final round.
The World No.99 eventually faded, finishing T20, but is back in contention just days later at Pebble Beach. A sparkling nine-under-par first round laid the foundations, with the Belgian ending his second round tied for the lead with Ludvig Aberg and Scottie Scheffler on -11.
It should serve as a testament to Detry's mindset that he has bounced back so quickly, but that's not to say it has been easy for the Belgian.
"It was not easy, to be honest," he said, reflecting on the past few days after the Farmers Insurance.
"It was very frustrating because I felt like my game was really up there and a great chance to win the tournament. I got a bit unlucky on Friday, I hit a sprinkler head once and I spun it back into the water on 18, that was very frustrating.
"The last round was frustrating as well because I had it going. I was three off the lead and I made three bogeys in a row. My game is, as I said, in good shape, though, so all I had to do was play my game on Thursday out here and it paid off.
Last season was Detry's first as a full-time card holder on the PGA Tour and the Belgian came close to ending his winning drought within a matter of weeks when he finished second at the Bermuda Championship in October 2022.
A consistent season saw him finish 84th in the FedEx Cup standings, and yet the 31-year-old is still awaiting his breakthrough win... But that's something he's working hard to change.
"I tend to maybe question myself a little bit too much, I tend to have a lot of thoughts rushing through my brain sometimes on Sundays," he explained.
"I've been trying to work really hard with some people to improve that, to be more focused and to stay more in the present. Sounds a bit cliché, but that's what you have to do, you have to stay in the present.
"I know my game is really solid, I've been playing some really good golf now for the last couple years, so all I have to do is really trust it and keep building on all these good rounds that I've done under pressure."
