Dean Burmester heads into this week’s championship with the immediate goal of building on his top-20 last week and an eye on his ultimate goal of the 2022 Majors.
Burmester finished tied 18th in last week’s MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood despite not feeling on top of his game, and this is another key week for him in terms of his ambitions at Major championship level.
The South African has qualified for The Open and the US PGA Championship, and this week’s Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned event at Steyn City could have an impact on his other ambitions at this level as he keeps pushing for a place inside the top 50 on the official world golf ranking from his current position of 76th.
“I’ve got two Majors this year, and hopefully three. I want to challenge the Majors. Last year in The Open I had a flash of excellent play and was in the top five for about nine holes, which was great.
“I saw my name up there. As a boy growing up, that’s where you want to be. You dream of standing at The Open with the claret jug, or at The Masters with a green jacket on come Sunday. I want to give myself a chance in a Major on the back nine on a Sunday. I’d be pretty happy just to have that chance right now,” Burmester said on March 16.
For this week though, Burmester is focusing on being in contention on the back nine at Steyn City on Sunday.
“Last week was slightly disappointing for me. I didn’t have my best game last week, but I managed to get a top-20. I have a few niggling injuries, but I’m working hard with my trainer and the physio to get ready for this week.”
Like most of the field, Burmester is in awe of the golf course and the challenge it will present.
“What a place this is. I’ve been lucky enough to play here before. It’s a great golf course, and it’s grown in so well. It’s only eight years old and just look at the condition of it for this week. The greens are just perfect. The rain has softened it up a bit which is a pity because I think they would’ve wanted it to be firm and fast.
“But it’s in spectacular condition, it’s beautiful, and it will pose a good challenge for the field this week.”
