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Johannesburg - In 2008 young Free State professional Dean Burmester watched Louis Oosthuizen win the Telkom PGA Championship at Country Club Johannesburg. Now Burmester heads into the weekend with a chance to add his own name to one of the most sought-after trophies in South African golf.
With a second successive 66 in Friday’s second round, Burmester heads the field on 12 under par. It puts him one clear of veteran Keith Horne, who produced a sublime 63 on Friday. And there is further experience only two strokes back in the trio of James Kamte, Trevor Fisher Jnr and Alex Haindl.
It’s a dream position for the 22-year-old from Bloemfontein to be in, and one he’s still trying to get used to.
“It’s a shock to me. The hard work has paid off, but you know, I’m still young and there are a lot of big guys out here. To be honest, I’m still nervous. It’s a little surreal. But I know I’m good enough to be up there with the best,” Burmester said after his round of four birdies and an eagle.
But despite his age, Burmester showed plenty of composure over the closing holes, where he made two incredible saves for par.
On the par-five 16th, his drive kicked right and finished in a hole in the rough. “I just chipped it out into the rough, and then hit seven-iron into the green. I hit my putt about four feet past and luckily I made the return putt for par,” he said.
Then on 17 he hit his drive into the water. But after a penalty drop, he hit a gap wedge to one foot and holed the putt to save par. A birdie on 18 earned him the lead, and Burmester paid tribute to his younger brother Andrew, who is his caddie this week, for the role he played over the closing stretch.
“If it wasn’t for him I don’t think I would’ve done what I did. He is fantastically positive towards me. He’s been my saviour on the greens this week. I’m lucky to have him on the bag.”
While he may have dreamt of being in this position, Burmester is the first to admit that, “Making dreams reality is tough.” It’s a task made harder by having the experience of Horne chasing him in Saturday’s third round.
Horne eased his way to a 63 that was built around his putting and a switch to a belly putter for the first time this week, which yielded an impressive 25 putts on Friday.
“That’s done the trick. When you hit good shots to 10 or 15 feet and capitalise by making them, that’s when you make the good scores. Often you hit it that distance and only make one or two of them. This time I made a lot of them and kept the momentum going,” he said.
But as much as the belly putter has helped him, Horne believes too much is being made about its impact in the game.
“You know, players start winning with the long putter, and suddenly everybody is using it. But then Tiger Woods starts winning again, and everybody will go back to the short putter. It goes in ebbs and flows in this game.”
Scores (RSA unless specified):
132 - Dean Burmester 66 66
133 - Keith Horne 70 63
134 - James Kamte 67 67, Trevor Fisher Jnr 65 69, Alex Haindl 69 65
135 - Darren Fichardt 64 71, Martin Maritz 68 67, Bryce Easton 69 66
136 - Andrew Curlewis 67 69, Louis Moolman 70 66
137 - Keenan Davidse 71 66, Jaco Van Zyl 69 68, Divan van den Heever 69 68, Joshua Cunliffe 71 66, Jaco Ahlers 69 68
138 - Morne Buys 73 65, Ulrich van den Berg 69 69, Tyrone Ferreira 73 65, Jbe' Kruger 70 68, Divan Gerber 69 69
139 - Ockie Strydom 71 68, Kyle Scott 71 68, Richard Sterne 71 68, Oliver Bekker 69 70
140 - Steven Ferreira 69 71, Jean Hugo 70 70, Charl Coetzee 71 69, Albert Pistorius 70 70, Coenie Stoop 69 71, Wynand Dingle 72 68, Drikus van der Walt 69 71, Toto Thimba (Jnr) 73 67, Jake Roos 69 71, Hendrik Buhrmann 70 70, Brett Liddle 69 71
141 - Derik Ferreira 69 72, Jake Redman 74 67, Justin Walters 72 69, Tjaart van der Walt 73 68, Hennie Otto 71 70, Allan Versfeld 71 70, Merrick Bremner 72 69, David Hewan 67 74, Mark Murless 74 67, Tyrone Ryan 70 71, Michael Hollick 68 73
142 - Warren Abery 70 72, Peter Karmis 74 68, Justin Harding 73 69, Chris Swanepoel 75 67, Lyle Rowe 73 69
143 - Allister de Kock 73 70, Paul Marks 75 68, Dismas Indiza (KEN) 72 71, Brandon Pieters 72 71, Jacques Blaauw 75 68, Dawie Van der Walt 73 70, Andrew Georgiou 72 71, Derick Petersen 73 70, Stuart Clark (WAL) 70 73
144 - Gary Birch Jr (GER) 76 68, Theunis Spangenberg 74 70, Neil Schietekat 72 72, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 73 71, Andre Cruse 68 76, Matthew Carvell 73 71, Tyrone Mordt 73 71, Lindani Ndwandwe 70 74, Wallie Coetsee 74 70, JJ Senekal 71 73, Riekus Nortje 77 67, Thomas Lovett 74 70, Martin du Toit 71 73, Louis Calitz 71 73, PG van Zyl 73 71, James Kingston 69 75, Desvonde Botes 69 75, Christiaan Basson 72 72, Colin Nel 74 70, Des Terblanche 70 74, Daniel Hammond 71 73, Alan Michell 75 69
Missed the cut:
145 - Peter Wilson (ENG) 75 70, Danie van Tonder 68 77, Juan Langeveld 71 74, Michiel Bothma 71 74, Doug McGuigan 74 71, Ryan Tipping 73 72, Prinavin Nelson 72 73, Anthony Michael 75 70, Francois Coetzee 70 75, Thabang Simon 73 72, Daniel Greene 73 72, Grant Veenstra 74 71, Andre van Zyl 73 72
146 - Ryan Thompson 76 70, Darren Blair 75 71, Omar Sandys 75 71, Ben Mannix (ENG) 75 71, Ross Wellington 77 69, Darryn Lloyd 76 70, Vaughn Groenewald 72 74, Grant Muller 71 75, Simon Wakefield (ENG) 70 76, Alan McLean (SCO) 75 71, Dean O'Riley 74 72, William Guy (SCO) 75 71, Chris Williams 76 70, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 70 76, PH McIntyre 74 72
147 - Jared Harvey 77 70, Teboho Sefatsa 76 71, Mike Michell 73 74, Shaun Norris 71 76, Bradford Vaughan 75 72, Louis de Jager 76 71, Ivano Ficalbi 76 71, Callie Swart 73 74, JG Claassen 76 71, Titch Moore 74 73, Bruce McDonald (ZIM) 76 71, JP van der Walt 73 74
148 - Robert Wiederkehr (SUI) 74 74, Graham van der Merwe 75 73, David Ryan 74 74, Mark Williams 76 72, Steve Surry (ENG) 75 73
149 - Ariel Canete (ARG) 76 73, Michael du Toit 77 72, Thabo Maseko 73 76, Adrian Ford 76 73
150 - Johan Bekker 75 75, Francois Haughton 73 77, Jacques van Tonder 72 78, Wesley Worster 76 74, Steve Basson 77 73, Ruan de Smidt 76 74
151 - Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 74 77, Irvin Mazibuko 75 76, Attie Schwartzel 73 78, TC Charamba (ZIM) 75 76
152 - Chris Erasmus 75 77
153 - Lean Boezaart 78 75
154 - Willie van der Merwe 78 76, Ben Fouchee 76 78, Johan du Buisson 76 78, Reece Mayberry 76 78
155 - Norman Mashaba 78 77
156 - Ashley Roestoff 77 79, Pieter Kruger 78 78
157 - Wayne Krambeck 79 78
158 - Ryan Strauss 84 74
160 - Louis le Roux 81 79
161 - Johan van Vuuren 79 82
162 - Jeff Inglis (ENG) 77 85
RTD - Beyers Smith 76
With a second successive 66 in Friday’s second round, Burmester heads the field on 12 under par. It puts him one clear of veteran Keith Horne, who produced a sublime 63 on Friday. And there is further experience only two strokes back in the trio of James Kamte, Trevor Fisher Jnr and Alex Haindl.
It’s a dream position for the 22-year-old from Bloemfontein to be in, and one he’s still trying to get used to.
“It’s a shock to me. The hard work has paid off, but you know, I’m still young and there are a lot of big guys out here. To be honest, I’m still nervous. It’s a little surreal. But I know I’m good enough to be up there with the best,” Burmester said after his round of four birdies and an eagle.
But despite his age, Burmester showed plenty of composure over the closing holes, where he made two incredible saves for par.
On the par-five 16th, his drive kicked right and finished in a hole in the rough. “I just chipped it out into the rough, and then hit seven-iron into the green. I hit my putt about four feet past and luckily I made the return putt for par,” he said.
Then on 17 he hit his drive into the water. But after a penalty drop, he hit a gap wedge to one foot and holed the putt to save par. A birdie on 18 earned him the lead, and Burmester paid tribute to his younger brother Andrew, who is his caddie this week, for the role he played over the closing stretch.
“If it wasn’t for him I don’t think I would’ve done what I did. He is fantastically positive towards me. He’s been my saviour on the greens this week. I’m lucky to have him on the bag.”
While he may have dreamt of being in this position, Burmester is the first to admit that, “Making dreams reality is tough.” It’s a task made harder by having the experience of Horne chasing him in Saturday’s third round.
Horne eased his way to a 63 that was built around his putting and a switch to a belly putter for the first time this week, which yielded an impressive 25 putts on Friday.
“That’s done the trick. When you hit good shots to 10 or 15 feet and capitalise by making them, that’s when you make the good scores. Often you hit it that distance and only make one or two of them. This time I made a lot of them and kept the momentum going,” he said.
But as much as the belly putter has helped him, Horne believes too much is being made about its impact in the game.
“You know, players start winning with the long putter, and suddenly everybody is using it. But then Tiger Woods starts winning again, and everybody will go back to the short putter. It goes in ebbs and flows in this game.”
Scores (RSA unless specified):
132 - Dean Burmester 66 66
133 - Keith Horne 70 63
134 - James Kamte 67 67, Trevor Fisher Jnr 65 69, Alex Haindl 69 65
135 - Darren Fichardt 64 71, Martin Maritz 68 67, Bryce Easton 69 66
136 - Andrew Curlewis 67 69, Louis Moolman 70 66
137 - Keenan Davidse 71 66, Jaco Van Zyl 69 68, Divan van den Heever 69 68, Joshua Cunliffe 71 66, Jaco Ahlers 69 68
138 - Morne Buys 73 65, Ulrich van den Berg 69 69, Tyrone Ferreira 73 65, Jbe' Kruger 70 68, Divan Gerber 69 69
139 - Ockie Strydom 71 68, Kyle Scott 71 68, Richard Sterne 71 68, Oliver Bekker 69 70
140 - Steven Ferreira 69 71, Jean Hugo 70 70, Charl Coetzee 71 69, Albert Pistorius 70 70, Coenie Stoop 69 71, Wynand Dingle 72 68, Drikus van der Walt 69 71, Toto Thimba (Jnr) 73 67, Jake Roos 69 71, Hendrik Buhrmann 70 70, Brett Liddle 69 71
141 - Derik Ferreira 69 72, Jake Redman 74 67, Justin Walters 72 69, Tjaart van der Walt 73 68, Hennie Otto 71 70, Allan Versfeld 71 70, Merrick Bremner 72 69, David Hewan 67 74, Mark Murless 74 67, Tyrone Ryan 70 71, Michael Hollick 68 73
142 - Warren Abery 70 72, Peter Karmis 74 68, Justin Harding 73 69, Chris Swanepoel 75 67, Lyle Rowe 73 69
143 - Allister de Kock 73 70, Paul Marks 75 68, Dismas Indiza (KEN) 72 71, Brandon Pieters 72 71, Jacques Blaauw 75 68, Dawie Van der Walt 73 70, Andrew Georgiou 72 71, Derick Petersen 73 70, Stuart Clark (WAL) 70 73
144 - Gary Birch Jr (GER) 76 68, Theunis Spangenberg 74 70, Neil Schietekat 72 72, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 73 71, Andre Cruse 68 76, Matthew Carvell 73 71, Tyrone Mordt 73 71, Lindani Ndwandwe 70 74, Wallie Coetsee 74 70, JJ Senekal 71 73, Riekus Nortje 77 67, Thomas Lovett 74 70, Martin du Toit 71 73, Louis Calitz 71 73, PG van Zyl 73 71, James Kingston 69 75, Desvonde Botes 69 75, Christiaan Basson 72 72, Colin Nel 74 70, Des Terblanche 70 74, Daniel Hammond 71 73, Alan Michell 75 69
Missed the cut:
145 - Peter Wilson (ENG) 75 70, Danie van Tonder 68 77, Juan Langeveld 71 74, Michiel Bothma 71 74, Doug McGuigan 74 71, Ryan Tipping 73 72, Prinavin Nelson 72 73, Anthony Michael 75 70, Francois Coetzee 70 75, Thabang Simon 73 72, Daniel Greene 73 72, Grant Veenstra 74 71, Andre van Zyl 73 72
146 - Ryan Thompson 76 70, Darren Blair 75 71, Omar Sandys 75 71, Ben Mannix (ENG) 75 71, Ross Wellington 77 69, Darryn Lloyd 76 70, Vaughn Groenewald 72 74, Grant Muller 71 75, Simon Wakefield (ENG) 70 76, Alan McLean (SCO) 75 71, Dean O'Riley 74 72, William Guy (SCO) 75 71, Chris Williams 76 70, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 70 76, PH McIntyre 74 72
147 - Jared Harvey 77 70, Teboho Sefatsa 76 71, Mike Michell 73 74, Shaun Norris 71 76, Bradford Vaughan 75 72, Louis de Jager 76 71, Ivano Ficalbi 76 71, Callie Swart 73 74, JG Claassen 76 71, Titch Moore 74 73, Bruce McDonald (ZIM) 76 71, JP van der Walt 73 74
148 - Robert Wiederkehr (SUI) 74 74, Graham van der Merwe 75 73, David Ryan 74 74, Mark Williams 76 72, Steve Surry (ENG) 75 73
149 - Ariel Canete (ARG) 76 73, Michael du Toit 77 72, Thabo Maseko 73 76, Adrian Ford 76 73
150 - Johan Bekker 75 75, Francois Haughton 73 77, Jacques van Tonder 72 78, Wesley Worster 76 74, Steve Basson 77 73, Ruan de Smidt 76 74
151 - Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 74 77, Irvin Mazibuko 75 76, Attie Schwartzel 73 78, TC Charamba (ZIM) 75 76
152 - Chris Erasmus 75 77
153 - Lean Boezaart 78 75
154 - Willie van der Merwe 78 76, Ben Fouchee 76 78, Johan du Buisson 76 78, Reece Mayberry 76 78
155 - Norman Mashaba 78 77
156 - Ashley Roestoff 77 79, Pieter Kruger 78 78
157 - Wayne Krambeck 79 78
158 - Ryan Strauss 84 74
160 - Louis le Roux 81 79
161 - Johan van Vuuren 79 82
162 - Jeff Inglis (ENG) 77 85
RTD - Beyers Smith 76
