Dean Burmester ‘proud’ to be back at iconic SA Open

Dean Burmester said it best when he looked out over Durban Country Club and the spectacular staging ahead of this week’s Investec SA Open and declared, “I feel incredibly proud.” 

It is indeed a proud moment for Burmester to return as the defending champion of the SA Open.

It’s an equally proud moment for SA golf as the revamped Durban Country Club welcomes back a championship that this course has hosted more than any other, and with it this year forming part of the Open Qualifying Series with the leading three players not already exempt for the Major earning a place in The Open at Royal Portrush. 

A quality field of Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour players have assembled in Durban to contest for a place in history. A place Burmester is happy to have taken with his own victory in this event.

“I’m just proud to be the defending champion and to stand here as a South African having lifted that trophy. I have my name alongside so many great champions of this event. I’m proud to be here and I’m proud to put up a defence of this special championship,” he said.

“It’s a good field this week, and it’s great that our Open — the second-oldest national Open in the world — can draw a field like this. The course has changed a lot since last I played here in 2013.

“They’ve put in a burn on the back nine which comes into play a lot. They’ve opened up a lot of the bush areas and that has let the rough grow. You have to be really precise. We’ll get some wind and rain this week so it will be all about managing emotions and conditions and then we’ll see what happens.” 

The field is an intriguing mix including three of the top five on the current DP World Tour Race to Dubai Rankings in John Parry, Laurie Canter and Shaun Norris, and every one of the top five on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.

In the mix

It has a mix of local and international former champions such as Branden Grace, Brandon Stone, Daniel van Tonder and Hennie Otto, as well as England’s Chris Paisley and Andy Sullivan.

It has GolfRSA’s leading amateurs such as Jordan Burnand, Christiaan Maas, Astin Arthur, Bryan Newman and Charl Barnard.

It will showcase the hope of the Sunshine Tour’s Papwa Sewgolum Class for transformation professionals, with Tristin Galant given an Investec invitation to compete this week.

And it will feature players such as Charl Schwartzel who has come close in this championship before and wants to add his name to the list of greats on this trophy.

“These days, any week you tee it up, there is great competition out there. But it’s good. This is our flagship event on the Sunshine Tour, and returning to an iconic venue like this is great.

“Coming back to this championship as a former winner gives you that goosebump feeling when you walk in here,” said Grace.