DE RUITER FLYING THE FLAG

By Jon Wilde,
PA Sport Niels de Ruiter is the unlikely hero carrying Dutch hopes on his shoulders in Saturday's semi-finals of the Lakeside World Championship in Frimley Green. Of the seven representatives from the Netherlands who started the tournament a week ago only De Ruiter remains - something very few people would have predicted, including the player himself. The man known as 'The Excellent Dude' plays qualifier Phil Nixon - another rank outsider at the start of the event - for a place in the final against top seed Martin Adams or Mervyn King.
DE RUITER FLYING THE FLAG: Sporting Life