Residence: Lake Nona, Florida
DOB: 11/12/1974 |
Maarten is a former Dutch, Swiss and Spanish Amateur champion. He earned his European Tour card at the Qualifying School in 1997. However he couldn’t hold onto it and lost it at the end of the 1998 season. In the early years he sold shares in himself to a group of businessmen in order to support his endeavours on The European Tour. The shareholders faith in him was handsomely repaid at the end of the 2004 season. Maarten bought them out at a profit of 85 per cent per share. After spending time on the Challenge Tour, where he won the 1999 Tusker Kenya Open, he regained his place on the main tour for the 2000 season.
His debut win on the European Tour came in 2003. Fans will remember his celebration in his native Netherlands. He became the first home player to win the Dutch Open since Joop Rühl lifted the trophy in 1947. The victory was extra special as it was in Eindhoven, the town in which Lafeber was born. This victory helped him finish in 29th place on the Order of Merit. This was his best finishing position until the 2005 season when he claimed 25th place.
Maarten’s best finish of 2008 came at the Irish Open. His tied for 3rd finish was thanks largely to a 67 in the final round. He secured another top-10 at the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters where he finished in a tie for 6th. Despite only securing 2 top-10 finishes in 2008, Maarten has finished in 66th place on the European Tour Order of Merit. |