Van den Berg brings confidence to Cape Town

Van den Berg, 38, took his seventh title on the Sunshine Tour when he beat 2011 South African Open champion Hennie Otto in the BMG Classic at Glendower Golf Club and climbed to 22nd on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.

“You never know with golf. The win does give me confidence, but you’ve still got to tee it up and make it happen again in the new week,” Van den Berg said.

“The win at Glendower has come and gone, but that does bode well for a good summer.”

In his favour is the classic 6,260-metre layout of the oldest golf club in the country.

“Royal Cape is one of those courses where you have to hit the ball well; it’s a golf course that will hurt and penalise the player who misses the fairway, and that’s all you ask of a tournament course.

“I think it’s going to be a great event on one of the grand old courses of South Africa, and it’s great to be back in the Cape again.

“We used to have the Players’ Championship here when I was at the start of my career. I had some good results, but never quite closed the deal.”

A triple-bogey seven on the ninth in the third round of last year’s inaugural event saw him finish tied in 19th place.

Sapa