For Linus Lang, it was a familiar situation. At the Stippelberg Open in late August, the 23-year-old from Bavaria had led for large parts of the final round. But during the Pro Golf Tour stop in the Netherlands, three closing bogeys denied him the win. Just two weeks later, Lang was once again right in the mix for the title. In the final of The Iron Duke Belgian Open, he was able to take the early lead with a birdie run between holes 2 and 4 – and this time, he stayed on top until the end despite extremely windy conditions at Golf Club D’Hulencourt.

Lang and his playing partner Nathan Cossement, who had led the field before the final round, engaged in an exciting duel throughout much of the final day. After a solid front nine, the Belgian had to endure a double bogey on hole 10, following two bogeys and one birdie. However, he responded quickly with back-to-back birdies on holes 11 and 12. As Lang, who was -3 at the turn, failed to add further birdies and dropped a shot on the 14th, Cossement came within one stroke of his rival.

But while the German closed out his round with steady pars, his opponent recorded two closing bogeys. The decision was made. With a final round of 69 (-2) and a total score of -11, the team player from GC Bad Wörishofen, who lives in Nuremberg, finished three shots ahead of Cossement (-8). Jaka Babnik, the younger brother of two-time LET win-ner Pia Babnik, crossed the finish line in third place at -6.

Staying in the zone
"It feels really good, and I’m just relieved that I got it done," commented Lang. "I learned from my mistakes, wanted to stay aggressive, and managed to implement that very well. I stayed in the present moment and made sure not to let my mind spiral."

One element of that strategy was completely avoiding the leaderboard. "On 18, I didn’t know if I had won. I had a good feeling under these conditions, but I didn’t know if someone had posted a low number from ahead of us." His recipe for success in the extreme winds south of Brussels: patient golf. "The course invites you to hit driver a lot, and I knew that with this wind, I wouldn’t hit every fairway. I just wanted to keep the ball in play, hit greens – and eventually, a few putts would drop. That worked really well for me."

Also leaving a lasting impression were the strategically demanding 18 holes of the "Le Vallon" course, with its extremely fast and perfectly maintained greens. This venue had already hosted events for both the Ladies European Tour and DP World Tour (Q-School) this year. "The quality of this facility truly stands out," Lang enthused. "You couldn’t tell at all that several tournaments had already been played here. I like it when shots into the rough are penalized – and that’s definitely the case here."

Lang climbs to fifth place in the Order of Merit. Lars van der Vight (Netherlands) remains in the lead, ahead of Clement Guichard (France), Michael Hirmer (Germany), and Filip Mruzek (Czech Republic).

At the season finale during the Castanea Resort Championship (October 4–6), the Pro Golf Tour players will have one last chance to climb the rankings. The Top 5 in the Order of Merit will earn a card for the upcoming season of the HotelPlanner Tour (formerly Challenge Tour).

Leaderboard: All results at a glance
Order of Merit of the 2025 Season