These are them: the ten 'forgotten' PDC Tour Card holders from the Benelux

Anyone who wants to be in full-time action on the Pro Tour must have a PDC Tour Card. However, not everyone is equally successful, in this article we discuss ten 'forgotten' PDC Tour Card holders from the Benelux.

Since 2011, the PDC Pro Tour has worked with a Tour Card system. To 128 players a Tour Card is awarded which gives access to all Players Championships and also the UK Open. A lot of players from the Benelux (although it is actually limited to Belgium and the Netherlands) managed to conquer such a Tour Card. Below we list (in random order) ten such players who could not enjoy their Tour Card for long.

1. Dick van Dijk (NL)

Van Dijk began his career with the BDO/WDF and although he never managed to qualify for the BDO World Cup he managed to win a major title in 2005. In the final of the WDF World Cup Singles he defeated the Dane Per Laursen 4-1. That same year he also reached the quarterfinals at the Finder Masters. In 2009, he finally made the move to the PDC, where he captured his Tour Card at Q-School in 2016. Two years later, however, Van Dijk had already lost it again. He did try to regain his Tour Card immediately, but was unsuccessful. Since then, the now 54-year-old Van Dijk did not return to action internationally.

2. Mike van Duivenbode (NL)

At the mere age of 20, Van Duivenbode (no relation to Dirk van Duijvenbode) captured his Tour Card. The previous years he had already won two Development Tour tournaments. On the Pro Tour, however, things were much more difficult and a year and a half later he announced he was temporarily quitting darts for physical reasons. Logically, he also lost his Tour Card at the end of that year. Since then Van Duivenbode has been playing again, reaching the final on the Development Tour and earlier this year he also reached the third round of the Dutch Open. So it seems to be waiting for a new entry to Q-School.

3. Sven Groen (NL)

Green was already known as a great talent in youth, winning the gold medal with the Dutch team at the WDF Europe Cup Youth in 2012. In 2015, he also won a Development Tour tournament. Green earned his Tour Card in 2017, but with the pros it went much harder and after two years he lost his Tour Card again. In 2019 he was still in action on a number of tournaments of the Development Tour, but since then it seems to have become quiet around the now 29-year-old Dutchman.

4. Wesley Harms (NL)

Perhaps a bit strange to see this name in this list. After all, Harms is far from an unknown name in the Dutch and by extension international darts world. For example, he reached the semifinals twice at the BDO World Championship and won several international titles in that league. Perhaps already forgotten is his brief passage at the PDC. After all, Harms seemed to have opted for a lifelong career with the BDO, until he chose to take his chance at PDC Q-School after all, following that association's bankruptcy. On his first attempt in 2020, he immediately captured his Tour Card. Partly due to the pandemic and also family circumstances, however, Harms ended up playing few tournaments at the PDC. He lost his Tour Card at the end of 2021 and has not tried to regain it since. Since then, Harms has made sporadic appearances at (mostly) local tournaments.

5. Edwin Max (NL)

Max began his career with the BDO and was a World Cup contender there in 2008 and 2009. On his debut he was stranded in the opening round after a 3-0 defeat to Simon Whitlock, a year later he lost 4-0 to Tony O'Shea in the second round. In 2013 he captured his PDC Tour Card, but it was not a success because after barely two years he had already lost that Tour Card again. Since then, the now 54-year-old Dutchman did not play in international tournaments.

6. Davy Van Baelen (BE)

Van Baelen made his first international appearance at the age of 28 when he managed to qualify for the 2017 BDO World Cup via the qualifying tournament. At Lakeside Country Club, he went down 3-2 in the preliminary round against Australian Raymond Smith. A year later at Q-School, Van Baelen managed to secure a PDC Tour Card for the next two years. However, that became unsuccessful and at the end of 2019 he lost that Tour Card again. Since then we did not see Van Baelen in action at international tournaments, he did not take his chance at Q-School either.

7. Kurt Van de Rijck (BE)

In the early 2000s, Van de Rijck was mainly active with the BDO and on the electronic darts circuit. In 2010, for example, he captured the gold medal with the Belgian team at the WDF Europe Cup. In 2012 he decided to take his chance at Q-School and not without success, on the second day he defeated Andrew Gilding in the final and thus secured his Tour Card for the next two years. Van de Rijck got to compete with Kim Huybrechts at the World Cup of Darts in 2012, where they lost to Australia in the quarter-finals. At the World Cup, he went down 3-0 against Wes Newton in the opening round. The following year, Van de Rijck also managed to qualify for the European Championship, but lost 6-1 to Michael van Gerwen in the first round. After losing his Tour Card, Van de Rijck retired from the PDC in 2014. Since then, we did not see him in action at international tournaments.

8. Vincent van der Meer (NL)

Van der Meer started his career with the BDO, just like many darts players. He did not make much of an impression there, reaching the last 32 at the Dutch Open several times. In 2017 he made a small trip to the PDC when he managed to qualify for the Austrian Darts Open. There he successively defeated Adrian Gray and Steve West, but in the third round Michael van Gerwen eventually proved too strong. Two years later he ventured his chance at PDC Q-School and with success. He eventually finished fourth in the rankings after four days, enough for a Tour Card for the next two years. By the end of 2020, Van der Meer had lost his Tour Card again and since then he has continued to appear regularly on the Challenge Tour.

9. Tony Martinez (BE/SP)

The penultimate in this list is a special case, as he was born in Malaga, but has been living in Belgium for a long time and also speaks fluent Dutch, which is why he still has his place in this list. Martinez still holds a Spanish passport, however, and after obtaining his PDC Tour Card in 2022, he competed for that country. By the way, Martinez captured that Tour Card by finishing fourth in the European Q-School rankings. In 2022 and 2023, he participated in the World Cup of Darts alongside José Justicia, but each time they went out in the opening round. The now 54-year-old Martinez lost his Tour Card again after two years and decided not to attend Q-School again. Nowadays, he mainly competes in local tournaments.

10 Mike Zuydwijk (NL)

We close this list with a now 30-year-old Dutchman. Zuydwijk won the youth version Dutch Open in 2009 and 2011. In 2015 he captured his PDC Tour Card on the first day of Q-School, During his two years on the Pro Tour he did manage to qualify for a tournament of the European Tour several times. However, all that proved insufficient to retain his Tour Card at the end of 2016. A year later, Zuydwijk was still regularly in action on the Development Tour, but since then it has been quiet around him.