Dean Burmester will lead the SA charge in the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood Golf and Country Club. Picture: twitter.com/SrixonGolf
Centurion - Dean Burmester will lead the SA charge in the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood Golf and Country Club, in Hartbeespoort, starting on Thursday.
Burmester at 74th in the world rankings, is the top SA player in the field. The big-hitter will be making his sixth start in 2022, having played three events on the DP World Tour (DPWT), one on the Sunshine Tour and one on the PGA Tour. Burmester will also be confident in his game after a second place finish at the Dimension Data Pro-Am back home last month.
Last week, Burmester finished in a quiet tie for 26th at The Kenya Open and will be looking to add to his two DPWT titles on a course he will know well.
The form South African in the field is Justin Harding. Harding is 13th on the DPWT rankings this season, with two top-10s in his last three events. Harding, like Burmester, has two DPWT titles to his name with his last coming at the Kenya Open in 2021. In Harding’s favour is that he has not missed a cut in 2022, with his worst finish being a tie for 42nd.
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One player who will be relishing a return to South Africa will be Joburg Open champion Thriston Lawrence. The 25-year-old, after winning the Joburg Open at Randpark Golf Club, had two missed cuts and a best finish of 19th in his next five events.
At the Kenya Open last week, however, Lawrence closed with a five-under 66 to finish second in what was a timely return to form. Aided with his improved results, returning to his homeland where he achieved his breakthrough victory will no doubt leave Lawrence fancying his chances.
Another player who could contend this week will be Zander Lombard. The 27-year-old is 20th on the DPWT rankings, and will hope to forget his missed cut at the Kenya Open just a few days ago.
Lombard finished second at the Joburg Open behind Lawrence, and has since notched up two third place finishes, one on the DPWT and one on the European Challenge Tour at the Cape Town Open two weeks ago.
Zander Lombard is strong. Very strong. 💪 pic.twitter.com/uzNc6ou8q4
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 17, 2017
The quartet of Burmester, Harding, Lawrence and Lombard will fancy their chances, but if they don’t fire it could be the turn of any of the other 70-plus SA players in the field who would like to ensure the first hoisting of the MyGolfLife Open is by a South African.
It will be the first DPWT event back in South Africa since the Joburg Open which opened the 2022 season in November last year. The tournament was shortened to two rounds to accommodate international players who were trying to negotiate a travel ban imposed on South Africa with the discovery of the omicron Covid-19 variant by local scientists.
With travel restrictions eased, the DPWT makes a welcome return to SA shores in the first hosting of the MyGolfLife Open.
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