Editor’s note: The Daily Illini sports desk sits down Sunday nights and decides which Illinois athlete or coach is our Illini of the Week. Student-athletes and coaches are evaluated by individual performance and contribution to team success.

Thomas Pieters strolled into the Demirjian Golf Practice Facility on a sunny afternoon a day after winning Big Tens. His lanky, 6-foot-3 frame stays composed as he is greeted by local reporters, each investigating the secret to his success. His calm, collected personality fills the room. Pieters is a gentle giant, but behind his demeanor lies one of college golf’s fiercest competitors.

This weekend, Pieters led the Illinois men’s golf team to one of its biggest goals of the year: a fifth consecutive Big Ten title.

His individual performance led the team and won him the title of individual Big Ten Champion. It’s not his biggest career accomplishment — he is the reigning NCAA individual champion — but it’s the first time the Belgium native has won the conference meet. 

Reflecting on the accomplishments of his college career, Pieters acknowledged it wouldn’t have been possible had his parents not introduced him to the game when he was 5 years old.

“My parents tried (golf) on vacation in South Africa, I think, and then once they got back, they took us, my brother and I, to the nearest golf course in Belgium, and we all tried it and we all liked it,” he said.

But growing up as a golfer in Belgium wasn’t always easy.

“I was pretty young, and we don’t have a lot of golf courses in Belgium,” Pieters said. “And something that people aren’t really aware of is that I got made fun of for playing golf, because it’s kinda, you know, a rich sport. It’s not a popular sport in Belgium, but it’s getting better now. I just did it because I liked it.”

At the age of 14, Pieters decided golf was something he wanted to do professionally, and he would come to America in college to begin his career.

Pieters, now 21, has a plethora of accolades, and last weekend felt like nothing other than a normal round of golf to him. He didn’t even change his pretournament routine.

“My brother’s a DJ,” Pieters said. “I listen to his music before I warm up. That’s my only real routine I do every round.” 

He starts by warming up his chipping, before moving to the range and finally the putting green, listening to his brother’s music all the while.

Even with the added pressure with the prestige of the championship, Pieters kept nothing but head coach Mike Small’s message and his own golfing motto in his head.

“Coach talked to me about not living in the past because everyone doesn’t want us to win with the five-peat and all that stuff,” he said. “I mean, last year was a different team, Luke (Guthrie) was a really good player, and the year before that we won by like 30 shots.” 

“This year, we kind of struggled the first couple of weeks. We went in as a really young team, too … two freshman, two sophomores and me, a junior, so we were one of the youngest teams there. We still pulled it off though, just by staying positive all weekend.”

Pieters stays positive by keeping the game of golf in perspective and not putting a wealth of importance on any one event.

“You just have to show up and play,” he said. “I think if you start thinking about it too much, it’s not fun anymore, and it needs to be fun because it’s still a game. People forget, it’s just a game.”

Sticking to that motto allowed Pieters to pull off his first-place finish with rounds of 70, 70, 70 and 74, leading the field at 4-under-par, beating out sophomore teammate Brian Campbell by five strokes.

“He’s going to be a great player,” Small said. “He’s just gotta keep going and doing what he’s doing. I’ll tell you what, he’s a great kid, and his parents and the whole country of Belgium should be very proud of him.”

Pieters said he didn’t play his best golf on the Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind. His driver was inconsistent all weekend, he said. 

The NCAA Championships in May will be his last tournament he’ll tune up for as an Illini, as he plans to turn forego his senior season of eligibility and turn pro after that meet. 

“I will play the U.S. Open qualifier as an amateur, and if I make the U.S. Open, I’ll stay amateur until the U.S. Open and turn pro right after,” Pieters said. “But if not, I’ll turn pro right after the U.S. Open qualifier.”

With professional golf just around the corner, Pieters will postpone his University plans and return to Europe this summer to work on the next stage of his career. He couldn’t be happier with his decision.

“Yeah, it’s kind of scary but exciting, too,” Pieters said. “I’ll miss coach and my team, obviously. 

“I’m not going to miss going to class, though,” he said with a laugh. 

Pieters will be traveling six weeks at a time across all of Europe in chase of his PGA Tour aspirations.

While in Europe, he will have the support of three people who have been with him throughout his entire career. His parents are familiar with the rigors of playing professional sports, as his mom played volleyball professionally, and his dad played tennis as well as volleyball.

“They know exactly what I’m going through, so it’s really nice to have them there,” he said. “I actually just drove them out to the airport (Monday) morning because they saw me this weekend at Big Tens and last weekend at Purdue, so it was nice for them to be able to see me win and help me through this.”

Pieters will also be in close touch with PGA Tour player and Belgium native Nicolas Colsaerts, who has been there for him.

“Nicolas Colsaerts has really tried to stay in contact with me to help me out starting off because he started when he was 18 and he didn’t really have a lot of help, so he doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes he did,” Pieters said. “And it’s kinda cool to have someone like him, top 30 in the world, to reach out to me and help me out.”

Even though Pieters will leave the Illini golf program, he’s sure the future of the program holds great hope. Campbell and Alex Burge will be the leaders on the Illinois team next year as juniors.

Pieters had a strong bond with Campbell and Burge as well as his roommate Mason Jacobs. The three all live next door to each other.

As a professional, Pieters won’t have his teammates to help him get loose before pressure-filled meets. Jacobs said they both “make sure we’re on the same page for how we need to perform in upcoming tournaments,” which not only strengthens their friendship, but also the team dynamic.

Despite high aspirations and a load of talent, Pieters wants to make sure his demeanor stays gentle, even as he sets out to become a giant of the golf world.

“I read an article about me (on Monday) in Golf World, and it said I’m humble, so I think I’ll keep it like that,” he said. “It’s a good thing, and I’m never going to let that get away from me.”

Claire can be reached at [email protected] and @clairelav228.