Dean Burmester will hit the first shot when he tees off at 6.30am on Thursday in the Joburg Open on the Firethorn Course, and as the old European Tour gives way to the DP World Tour, the reigning South African PGA champion will be hoping to launch a dominant phase in his own career.
In May, Burmester claimed his second victory on the European Tour when he won the Tenerife Open. He won the Sunshine Tour’s PGA Championship on November 7and arrived in Johannesburg fresh off his share of sixth in the DP World Tour Championship last weekend.
He has climbed to a career-high 76th on the Official World Golf Ranking, which makes him the highest-ranked player in the field. So it makes sense that he was asked to hit that symbolic first tee-shot. “It’s an honour to have been asked, and I appreciate the significance of the moment. It will make the 4.30am wake-up call feel a little better than it might otherwise,” laughed Burmester.
He is looking forward to the opportunity to try and reproduce the form which has brought him to where he finds himself now. “Just about every department of my game is working well at the moment, to be honest,” he said. “Here at altitude in Johannesburg and on this course, I get the chance to take advantage of the fact that I do get it out there off the tee. I have been better at finding the fairways recently, and that’s a big part of being able to win here.”
He’s never been one to believe that he has things sewn up in advance of putting four good rounds together, and he knows that he will face a stern challenge from local stars returning to play at home, just as he is. Dylan Frittelli, Justin Harding, Daniel van Tonder and Brandon Stone will all be looking to turn around some indifferent recent form and, if they get that right, they’ll be tough to beat.
There are also the South Africans who had lengthy campaigns in Europe in attempts to hold on to or to win their DP World Tour cards. Oliver Bekker earned his the hard way on the Challenge Tour, and he will feel relieved to be back home. George Coetzee, Justin Walters and Darren Fichardt all finished inside the top 121 on the European Tour, and will start the new dispensation off with home comforts.
It’s those home comforts that are appealing to Burmester right now. “It was a long year,” he said. “I was on the road for 30 weeks, so I am feeling excited to have one last big effort in these year-end tournaments at home.
“It’s been a fantastic year and hopefully it can continue and I can keep showing this kind of form. If I can show any of the form I’m showing now, then hopefully I can contend in not just one event but hopefully a couple of them.
“From a player’s perspective we love playing in front of our home crowds and this is another opportunity where we get three chances. I think all the South Africans are excited to come home and give it their best shot and hopefully keep all these trophies in South Africa.”
