Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Fresh off claiming his 12th Sunshine Tour win on Sunday, Jaco Van Zyl says South Africa holds a special place in his heart.
The 34-year-old relished the chance to compete on home soil, and hinted his campaigning on the European Tour - where he has not won a title - would not be permanent.
“I love playing here, I love being here,” Van Zyl said after lifting the Telkom PGA Championship title at Country Club Johannesburg.
“Europe is not going to be forever, it will maybe be another six years and I'm done. I'm just really doing it for the family and the boys.”
Van Zyl, who secured victory by one stroke over Dylan Frittelli, said the turning point in his final round - at one point he was four behind leader Chris Swanepoel - was the 12th hole where he chipped in for birdie.
“I hit a perfect two-iron exactly where I needed to and when we got there it was just out of range for the lob-wedge, and I needed to hit a really soft sand-wedge.
“I hit it exactly where I wanted to and I actually thought it was going to be ok until I saw it finish.
“It was not sitting too badly and I thought, 'If I can get this to try and keep the momentum or just get something going'.
“I was level par at the time, and it's got to turn at some stage, so chipping that in got the momentum going.”
Van Zyl said he would take a seven-week break after this week's season ending Investec Cup event.
With the win, Van Zyl holds top spot in the standings, marginally ahead of Darren Fichardt on points.
“Golf stays golf and you need a break,” said Van Zyl, who holds a pilot's licence.
“I want to get some flying time in. As I always say, golf is really starting to interfere with the flying time.
“I think the seven weeks is going to do a lot for the flying and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with the family.”
