First published in Compleat Golfer February 2024 edition
Sometimes, finding out who you are is a matter of urgency. Jacques P de Villiers can remember the urgency, but not the precise moment when he needed to know who he is.
“Pieter Jacques de Villiers are my full names on my birth certificate,” he says. “Jacques has always been my name from birth and Pieter is for family formalities – I’m sure a lot of people can relate to these things. Anyways, I had entered a tournament, I don’t remember when it was but it was a SA Open qualifier, where there were two Jacques de Villiers entered and I was confused as to when my tee-time was, so then from then on I used the ‘P’ to easily identify who I was. What I didn’t realise was that it wasn’t only for the entry sheets – it was also for tour media. So now, for the record, Jacques de Villiers will do just fine!”
Then South African golf fans found out who he was last December when he had a run at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, going toe-to-toe with 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen in an absorbing final-round battle.
“I knew going there that I’d been playing well,” he recalls. “I came second at Pezula in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final, and that got me into the Joburg Open as well as qualifying for Mauritius.
“I made the cut at Joburg Open, had to qualify for SA Open, did that, made the cut at SA Open, then qualify for Dunhill Championship, did that and unfortunately missed the cut there. It was upsetting but I wasn’t too disappointed as I knew that playing so many competitive rounds in a row would catch up. But it was no indication on how I was playing. So, when I landed in Mauritius, I knew I was rested and ready to go.
“When I got to the course and saw the greens for the first time, I thought that I’d played well on them before. They seem to be the same grass as the grass on Umhlali which I played just a month-and-a-half earlier, and that was comforting.
“The first round went nicely but I didn’t make too many putts. Nobody had played on the course before so nobody knew what to expect. Antoine Rozner played a 10-under round and I thought, ‘Wow! He obviously had a good round.’
“I was still in the top 20 though, so that showed my round was good and the course wasn’t that easy. So I broke it down and thought if I could get as close to 20-under, which was four rounds of five- under, that would get me really close. So I kept my head down and just pushed to get to my goals.”
He followed his opening round of 68 with a five-under 67 as he moved into contention – and had the commentators scrambling for biographical information about him as he went about his business, inscrutable behind his shades.
“I’d say it’s pretty accurate to call me a late bloomer,” he says. “I’ve always felt that I should be doing better than I have been and that’s been the case since junior golf through amateur golf and then now in professional career as well.
“So when the weekend came, and I was in the final group, that did come as a surprise. You start dreaming. Nerves and thoughts come up, but I had been in that position before earlier in the year so it was easier to work through, especially after starting with two bogeys on Saturday. But it’s never over till it’s over, and that helped me settle down and then just narrow things down into smaller goals. I knew that I could still get to five-under for the day. I had a huge run after that, with four birdies and an eagle. Then I just finished it off nicely with a birdie on the last.”
It was another 68 for De Villiers, and it got him a final-round date with a major champion.
“Honestly when I saw I was paired with Louis Oosthuizen, I was really happy,” he says. “I was curious to watch him go about his work and see how he plays, but I still had every intention of winning the tournament – but, you know, it’s not every day you get to play with a major winner, so I wasn’t going to let that opportunity slide.
“It was great! We greeted each other on the range on Sunday and had a brief chat and then went up to the first tee and just started playing. I definitely had things going on in my head, but I had learned from my mistakes the previous day and managed to keep my thoughts at bay, simply staying focused on what I need to do to do well.
“Sadly, it wasn’t good enough to win. I made more mistakes than I should have and that cost me in the end. I was very pleased with the way I played and how I played with Louis, who is one of the best players in the world.
“It showed me that I can compete against the best in the world. I just have to do it. I learned that making better decisions and better mistakes count for more than good shots.”
Before 2023, his best finish since he turned pro was a share of seventh in 2018 at St Francis Links. So, in the 10 years since he turned pro in 2013, were there times when he maybe wanted to step away? Or was there something that kept driving him?
“My first year on the Sunshine Tour was 2018,” he says. “Before then I had played on the Big Easy Tour and IGT Tour.
“The early stages of my professional career were not easy to process. I played seven qualifying schools. The first two were a shot in the dark, as I studied whilst playing amateur golf. Then in 2012, I made the top 60, but not the top 30 who got a Sunshine Tour card. That started my professional career on the Big Easy Tour and IGT Tour.
“After that I missed the top 30 by one shot three years in a row. That was a bitter pill to swallow. What made it more difficult to accept was that it was at my home course at Schoeman Park and next door at Bloemfontein. Questions develop after that, but the thing that kept me going was that it was only one shot and I knew that I didn’t need much.
“In 2017 I had a great season on the Big Easy Tour. I had two second-place finishes and I was fourth on the order of merit which gave me my Sunshine Tour card.
“Since then I’ve had many missed cuts and a few top finishes. I’ve always wanted to see how far my golf would take me, developing my potential. That’s been the driving force and the reason to go through the struggle. It will forever be my drive to reach the potential that lies within.”
That potential is something that started for him like so many others: “My fondness for the game started with my dad,” he says. “Whenever he went to the golf course or was swinging his club in the garden, I wanted to be a part of it! This was the case ever since I can remember from the age of four.
“He took me for my first golf lesson at 12 to Corne Viljoen at Schoeman Park where I still practice today. Schoeman Park had many good professional players that started there – Ian Palmer, Jbe’ Kruger, Dean Burmester and Alex Haindl to name a few. Playing with them and growing up with them around me, it was always part of the dream to turn professional and to play on tour. Corne did a wonderful job of nurturing us to playing tournament golf in our junior days, so that when it came to doing it ourselves, we would transition easily.”
While there is plenty of talk of ‘doing it ourselves’, De Villiers knows that it takes more than that. “My Mom and my Dad had unwavering support for me during my professional career,” he says. “Without their financial and emotional support I definitely would not be where I am now. Not that the times were easy, but when it came down to it they were always there for me. Even during the times when I wasn’t sure about my direction, they would motivate me again.
“When I started playing on the Sunshine Tour I travelled with Alex Haindl. He mentored me. We would work together, and he definitely ramped up my practice sessions. We would coach each other and figure things out. Some good, some not so good, but learning and practice was always high on the agenda. He got my short game to where it is today.
“Golf is filled with disappointments and managing those difficult times is what brings you to being successful. Without the support of my parents and the guidance of Alex and Corne, it would’ve been a much harder road to travel.”
And now the road looks as if it will be longer: “Looking onto next year, the finish in Mauritius has hopefully opened up opportunities for me on the DP World Tour,” he says. “We still have a few events on the Sunshine Tour before the season is done in April and my main focus now is to finish on the top of the Order of Merit.
“Mauritius showed I can compete. Now I need to give myself the opportunity to do so and play on the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour. It has always been a dream of mine to play at the highest level in golf, but for now it’s to keep improving and playing the best I can.
“The only way to do that is to work hard, set the emotions aside and play the best shot I can at that moment. I’ve been able to take that through to things off the course as well. The work I’ve been doing with Doug Wood and Biogrit at Serengeti has really paid off.”
He knows who he is now – and so do we!
