The performance comes on the heels of Burmester winning a week earlier at the Joburg Open. Winning back-to-back titles is a career first for the 34-year-old. In turn he also is the first player from the LIV Golf League to win two DP World Tour titles after jumping to the rival circuit; both events are co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour, with Burmester exempt because of his national status.

Making Burmester’s performance even more impressive was his physical state during Friday’s second round. Burmester says he woke up feeling sick.

“I woke up Friday and some 24-hour tummy bug or virus or something [hit me],” Burmester said. “I was throwing up on the golf course.”

Mid-way through the round, Burmester’s caddie even asked him if he might consider withdrawing, given his prospects for making the cut looked bleak. “He said, ‘You’ve got to watch your health. We’ve still got next week [Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in South Africa]. What do you want to do?’ And I said I just need to get through today. That’s all I’ve got to do. I couldn’t look down and hit a putt I was so dizzy. But managed to get a two over par with 36 putts.”

It was good enough to get to the weekend, when he was feeling better and ready to make a run at his fourth career DP World Tour title and a tournament that has a special place in his heart.

“It’s obviously for the South Africans one of the ones you always want to win,” Burmester said. “At this stage to be involved in this tournament and to win it, it’s pretty special.

Main Image: Luke Walker

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The 34-year-old, who joined Stinger GC at the start of 2023, started the day three shots off top spot but took the lead on the fifth and never looked back, putting in a nerveless display to finish the week at 18 under.

Closing out victory on home soil ??#JoburgOpen pic.twitter.com/0SdVDKsQE5

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 26, 2023

South Africa’s Darren Fichardt – fresh off regaining his card at the Qualifying School – was the nearest challenger after a 64 of his own, finishing two shots clear of defending champion Dan Bradbury, who signed for the same score.

Those three will now be heading to Royal Troon next summer, with the top three players not already exempt earning a spot in the 2024 Open Championship via the Qualifying Series.

Jacques Kruyswijk fired a 69, one shot more than fellow South African Zander Lombard as the duo finished at 12 under, one shot ahead of World Number 1,214 Nikhil Rama, with five home players in the top six.

The win for Burmester is his third on the DP World Tour and he was delighted to put on a “special” performance to overturn Thriston Lawrence’s lead in front of the home fans.

“I actually can’t describe what’s really happened,” he said.

“The fans are always fantastic at home in South Africa and I’m so happy to be home and playing at home and eating a bit of braai meat and having a good time.

“Thriston is an amazing competitor and he had a three-shot lead so I knew I had to do something special and fortunately I was able to do that.”

Lawrence found the trees on the right with his tee-shot at the second and then the bushes on the left with his second, taking a drop to surrender a double-bogey and see his lead cut to one.

He was in a share as he failed to get up and down on the third and Fichardt was soon alongside him as he spectacularly holed out for eagle from the fairway on the second and made a nice up-and-down on the fifth

Burmester hit the front on his own as he was one roll from an eagle on the fifth and his lead was two shots when he hit a stunning approach to three feet at the eighth.

Fichardt trimmed the advantage at the par-five tenth after laying up and leaving himself six feet but Burmester recovered well from a poor tee-shot to take advantage of the same hole and restore his cushion.

The duo were going toe-to-toe and Fichardt holed from five feet at the 13th but Burmester drove right up to the front of the green on the same hole and got up and down to have breathing space again.

A big drive down the 15th then allowed Burmester to set up a birdie from ten feet and he gave a fist-pumping celebration as the lead was stretched to three.

Fichardt holed from 20 feet on the last on the last to wrap up solo second but Burmester had time to make another birdie from six feet on the 17th and seal a commanding victory.

Bradbury had bogeyed the second but he made a hat-trick of gains from the fourth, left himself seven feet at the ninth and holed out for eagle from the fairway to get into a share for second.

The Englishman hit a tee-shot to seven feet on the 14th and and an approach to similar range on the 17th as he looked to set a testing target but a slip on the last resulted in a poor second and a bogey.

Lombard got up and down on the fifth and holed from ten feet at the sixth but had 16 pars apart from those birdies, missing a putt on the last that would have sent him to Royal Troon at Bradbury’s expense.

Kruyswijk made birdies on the eighth, 13th and last but surrendered a double after finding water on the 15th, while Rama had two birdies and two bogeys in his 70.

South African Lawrence carded a 75 to finish at ten under alongside Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who signed for a 64, and one ahead of local pair Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Jayden Schaper and Dutchman Darius van Driel.

Image: DPWT Twitter / X

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The juices were flowing by this point, just like the rest of us when we have a good round going.

Could I shoot my best round ever (to this point a 63 on the PGA Tour)? Will I win this tournament? But wait, what if I screw up? Oh, please don’t mess up.

It’s only natural for such thoughts to start entering your head. The difference between a PGA Tour player like Thompson and the rest of us is that he knows the drill, and not even the allure of shooting 59 can distract him.

Career low round for Davis Thompson ?

The 23-year-old birdies the last for an opening-round 62 @TheAmExGolf. pic.twitter.com/hIbAkjzrqn

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 19, 2023

“My biggest challenge today was staying present minded and trying to put one foot in front of the other,” Thompson said after finishing his round. “Your mind definitely starts to wander a little bit. But I played enough rounds to where I try to teach myself over and over you can’t get ahead of yourself.”

Alas, a sub-60 round wasn’t to be. A couple of birdies and no bogeys on the back was good enough for merely a 10-under 62. But that was good enough for a two-shot edge on his five nearest competitors, the second time in his young career that he’s been the Day 1 leader.

Along with Thompson’s impressive start, here are three other takeaways from the first round in the California desert.

Feisty Rahm

Jon Rahm. Katelyn Mulcahy

Among those chasing Thompson is Jon Rahm, who opened with a 64 on the same course to put him, alongside Sam Burns, in the crowded pack at T-2.
Outside of Rory McIlroy, Rahm, winner two weeks ago at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, may be the best player in golf today. He’ll surely be trying to prove that this week, even if the Official World Golf Ranking seems to be conspiring against him. Rahm is one of those players best when he’s got a fire lit under him. And this week, he sounds like a man who’s been given a spark.
“Really badly,” he said in response to a question about how much he wants to capture another win here (he was the Amex champion in 2018, the second of his eight career PGA Tour wins). “What gives me more confidence is I never finished outside the top 14 in this tournament. I’ve been consistent every single time and I’ve given myself a chance.”
Let’s just call this what it is: A warning shot to the rest of the field.

Scouting Xander

Xander Schauffele. Ben Jared

It’s reasonable to says that 2023 feels like a big season for the Xander Schauffele. In 2020 and 2021, the 29-year-old California native combined for four major top-10s but zero tour wins (OK, he did grab an Olympic gold medal in that time). Then last season he won three times only to claim zero major top-10s in exchange.
Predicting what’s ahead for Schauffele would have been challenge enough before he had to WD from the Sentry Tournament of Champions two weeks ago with a back injury. He returned to play this week, posting an impressive opening-round 65 at La Quinta that hints the pain he was feeling in Hawaii might be a short-term issue.
“Yeah, it’s a little sore,” Schauffele said on Wednesday. “Trying to be as patient as possible to take things as slow as possible in terms of getting too many reps in and I guess being stupid in that sense. But I’m known to try to practise too much at times. I’m trying to take this one slow so I don’t hurt it again or do something of that nature.”
Schauffele feels like one of those players whose gift and curse is seemingly always having the potential to do more. His opening round leaves him inside the top 10 through 18 holes. His performance this week won’t define his season — far from it. But these early West Coast swing events may provide a clue for what’s ahead of Schauffele. Will this be the year he truly, and fully, ascends?

Big Toe Burmester

Dean Burmester. Meg Oliphant

Finally, a special shout-out to Dean Burmester, who joins Schauffele at T-7. Like Xander, Burmester is playing hurt, although the 33-year-old South African’s injury comes with an unusual backstory. After a routine power outage at his home, Burmester was playing the role of handyman husband — only to have it backfire.
“Our solar power kind of tripped,” he said. “I was on my way to fix it. My wife was in the shower. I was on my way trying to be the valiant knight, I was trying to be the man to the rescue. And I ran into a chair and broke my baby toe,” he says.
It’s causing him to hang back on his right foot through the ball, Burmester says, rather than transfer weight over to his lead side. He’s also not swinging as hard as he usually would. So far, however, his score doesn’t show any sign of injury.

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The South African would move into the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking with a victory at Doha Golf Club this week, and with it secure a place in the field at Augusta National for the year’s first Major Championship.

The 32-year-old moved to a career-high 64th in the world following his second place finish at last week’s Steyn City Championship in his homeland, where he finished two shots behind compatriot Shaun Norris. Burmester is now eyeing that next step to make his Masters bow, which he could also achieve with a solo second place finish in Doha.

“I’m glad I made a competition of last week. I was four shots behind going into the final round and I had a two-shot lead for quite a while there. I’m a bit gutted to have thrown it away but anytime someone is leading a tournament, shoots 32 on the back nine, they’re normally going to win the tournament and that’s what he did,” said Burmester.

“I’ve been playing solid. I take a lot of positives out of that. I was tied for the lead with two holes to go, had a chance to win a tournament on Sunday and that’s what we practice for really. I’m here in Qatar trying to do it again.

“The course is in great nick. They’ve re-laid the greens, all the surfaces, the fairways, the rough is up a little bit, it will make for good viewing, that’s for sure.

“It’s something you can’t not think about (playing at the Masters). When you’re on the golf course you just try and stay process-driven; one shot at a time, it’s cliché, everyone says it, but as a little boy that’s the one Major you want to go and play. You see everyone wearing that Green Jacket and you’re standing on the putting green with the lights on at seven-years-old and you’re making a putt to win the Masters and beat Tiger Woods. If it does go my way and I happen to win or whatever it takes, that’ll be great.”

The eight-time Sunshine Tour winner is joined in the Qatari capital by Frenchman Antoine Rozner, who will defend his title at a different course having secured his second DP World Tour title at Education City Golf Club last year by holing a 60-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. He would join Branden Grace as the only players to successfully defend the title and Major champions Adam Scott and Paul Lawrie as the only multiple winners. 

One man who has already secured his Masters debut is Italy’s Guido Migliozzi and he will be hoping to go one better than his tie for second in Doha last year. Meanwhile Spaniard Jorge Campillo, the 2020 winner, will be looking to add to his excellent record in this event, which includes a tie for second the year before his victory.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime putt to win a tournament. You don’t get a putt to win a tournament every week in our job but to have a 60-foot putt to win is even more special so it was definitely the biggest putt of my career,” said Rozner.

“It was massive for me, it was huge, it got me into the Match Play two weeks later and to get a second win so quickly after my first win in Dubai was just a big achievement for me and I was really proud of myself that week.

“I think the more you play on this Tour, the more you realise how hard it is to win a golf tournament. It’s so competitive nowadays. I’ve only been here two years but hopefully I’ll be here in ten or 15 years and I’ll tell myself what you’ve done is very, very good and winning a tournament is so hard. Every single part of your game has to be perfect to win a golf tournament, I think that’s just what happened those two weeks and to do it that quickly was very big and I think, looking back, very impressive.

“I think the margin of result is just so small. Last week I came 25^th but I was only two shots away from a top ten finish and I feel like I gave up so many shots on the course, silly shots as well. It’s just so, so close to great results and I feel like my game is actually very good, it’s been very solid the last three weeks and I’m really looking forward to this week, bring some good vibes again. It’s very close to being good again.

“I’m going to play nine holes today, I want to get used to the greens as well because I’m sure the grass is going to be very different to what we had in South Africa and Kenya. I’m going to spend some time on the putting green, play the Pro-Am tomorrow, so I’m going to try and use that time as well to get used to the course. I’ve heard good things about the course, so we’ll see. I’m really curious to see what it’s like.”

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By John Huggan
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — An air of incredulity was still hanging over Dean Burmester as he emerged from the scorer’s hut at the end of his third round in the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club. It wasn’t the five-under 66 he had just shot that had the 32-year-old South African shaking his head. That score was good certainly, although far from exceptional in almost perfect scoring conditions. But it did involve a run of holes that, if not unique in professional golf, must be close to unprecedented.

Standing on the 12th tee, Burmester, winner of the Tenerife Open earlier this year, was two over par for the day having failed to make even one birdie, level par for the tournament, and a strong candidate to miss the 54-hole cut in play because more than 78 players had qualified for the third round.

Then everything changed. Five holes later, Burmester was seven under par and, at the time, only four shots off the overnight lead held by Jon Rahm, Thomas Detry and Jack Senior. You read that right, by the way: Seven under par.

It went like this. On the 204-yard 12th, Burmester’s tee-shot finished a foot away from the cup. He tapped-in for the birdie with the 6-iron he had used from the tee.

On the 418-yard 13th—“a hole that has never been kind to me, so it is nice to get something back”—the five-time Sunshine Tour winner was 178 yards from the flag after his drive. He then holed out for an eagle with his 7-iron, the ball catching the slope on the green before disappearing below ground.

The short, 161-yard 14th was negotiated with a gap wedge—“I nearly slam-dunked it”—and a six-foot putt for another birdie.

Then, after finding the left rough off the tee on the 488-yard 15th, Burmester holed out again for eagle from 220 yards with his 7-iron, a feat he celebrated by lying on the ground “in disbelief” as his “shocked” playing partners, Adrian Meronk and Sam Burns, came running over.

For those not paying attention, that’s a run of 2-2-2-2. And it could have been even more extraordinary. Only a lip-out at the 576-yard par-5 16th prevented Burmester from adding another eagle to his almost ridiculous scoring burst. Then, by his own admission, he made a “disappointing” par-par finish.

“It was crazy stuff,” he continued, his mind clearly racing. “I don’t know if that’s ever been done before. I’ve certainly not witnessed it. I’m glad it was me. This is just an insanely crazy game. I’ve made 12 [straight] 3s before. But I don’t think I’ve ever made four 2s in one round, let alone in a row. The crowd on the last two 2s just went absolutely nuts. People had seen the score and started walking with me. I must have had 100 in the gallery. Now we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

It’s a safe bet it won’t be more of the same.

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By John Huggan
There is winning, and then there is winning in style, with a bit of panache thrown in. This one had all of the above. Closing with a best-of-the-day nine-birdie, nine-par 62 that took him to 25 under for the week, Dean Burmester ultimately strolled to a five-shot victory at the €1.5 million Tenerife Open.

Best of the rest in the distant wake of the 31-year-old Zimbabwe-born South African turned out to be Nicolai Von Dellingshausen. The German’s eagle at the 548-yard par-5 18th took him past Kalle Samooja and Adrian Meronk, who tied for third on 19 under. The increasingly consistent American John Catlin, three times a winner in his previous 14 European Tour events, pulled up alone in fifth spot.

It was Burmester’s day though, right from the start. Beginning one shot behind Samooja and Von Dellingshausen, the World No. 168 began with a brace of birdies, then made three more in his next five holes. Standing on the eighth tee, he was ahead to stay. Four more dips under par would follow on the picturesque 6,857-yard Golf Costa Adeje lay-out, as the gap between the eventual champion and his increasingly out-paced challengers grew and grew.

“I was actually nervous at the start,” said Burmester, a seven-time winner on the Sunshine Tour whose only previous European Tour win came in his homeland, at the 2017 Tshwane Open. “It’s been four years of struggle and hard work. If you’re not nervous standing on the first tee before the final round and you’re in one of the final groups there’s something wrong with you. But a good putt for birdie on the first settled me. Then I hit a lovely shot into the second as well. From there, it was really all about trying to give myself 18 birdie chances. I knew someone was going to go low. It just happened to be me today.”

Still, for all that, this was his eighth win as a professional, yet it represented something of a step-up for Burmester. Never before had he tasted victory outside the African continent. But what pleased him most was the way he handled the pressure of being in contention. Only one week earlier he had failed that test, closing with a 71 at the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open to be passed by several and finish T-38.

“Last week I played really nicely for three days and then shot one over on Sunday,” said Burmester, who will move into the top 20 on the Race to Dubai and (probably) just inside the top 100 in the world. “That was purely mental, getting in my own way. So on Friday I said to myself, OK, this weekend I’m going to learn from that and not get in my own way and just let it happen. And if it’s my time, it’s my time. So I drew on that experience and that helped a lot.”

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The casual golf fan may not know much about Dean Burmester, but it will only take the following clip to know the 31-year-old South African is an absolute savage. After laying up(?) off the tee with a 2-iron on the 569-yard, par-5 11th at Gary Player Country Club, Burmy belted another trusty 2-iron to near gimme range to set up one of the most unusual eagles you’ll ever see. Check it out:

2 iron + 2 iron = 569 yards@BurmyGolf eagles the 11th.#SAOpen pic.twitter.com/iDKd2QjE5F

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 4, 2020

Two irons. Five hundred and sixty-nine yards. Granted, it was two 2-irons, but still. We’re guessing that’s not what Gary Player envisioned when he designed that long par 5.

Of course, this will likely cause the latest cries of “THE BALL GOES TOO FAR!” from golf purists. And maybe it does, but do you know how hard it is to hit a 2-iron?! And aren’t golf purists always complaining the modern tour pro not having to hit clubs like 2-irons?

Anyway, well played, Burmy. You’re a beast.

Ed’s Note: For the record, here’s Pepperell’s tweet after Shinkwin posted a 68 int he first round of the Golf in Dubai Championship at JGE with two drivers:

He was out driving me by 30 yards with the short one and 50 yards with the long one.

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) December 2, 2020

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By Kent Gray
Dean Burmester’s putting has been a feature of the first half of the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic. Chasing a second European Tour title, he’s quite happy to take care of the driving, on and off the Majlis, from here on in too.

The 30-year-old shares second place with Robert Karlsson midway through the $3.25 event after surviving a scary car accident on the eve of the tournament.

Travelling back to their hotel from Dubai Mall on Wednesday night with wife Mel and 4½-year-old son Jordan, the Uber they were passengers in was involved in a four-car crash, piling into the back of a Porsche before being ricocheted onto another vehicle.

“Yeah, it was quite hectic,” Burmester said after a second-round 68 moved him to -7, a shot adrift of 36-hole pacesetter Eddie Pepperell.

“We went to the aquarium and on our way back we took an Uber to the hotel… there was traffic on the other side of a blind rise and our Uber driver was just too slow and so we went into the back of a Porsche.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

So took an @uber ride back to my hotel last night and it was cut a little short. Luckily the family is all ok except for a couple bumps an bruises. Now to see if I can get myself ready to tee off at 13:00 today @europeantour @omegagolfdubai

A post shared by Dean Burmester (@burmygolf) on Jan 22, 2020 at 7:17pm PST

Burmester walked away with a “slight ankle problem” and his wife bad whiplash “but other than that we’re surviving and just happy to be here.”

“Luckily we just got away with a couple of bumps and bruises and just thank God that we’re all okay.”

The feeling has been mutual from everyone involved at the Desert Classic.

Perhaps more than anyone Burmester is looking forward to the weekend and a shot to add to his 2017 European Tour breakthrough at the Tshwane Open and seven Sunshine Tour wins.

“I think for the most part I putted really well and I’ve just been consistent trying to hit fairways, because the rough’s quite deep. For me to hit fairways is pretty good,” the world No. 257 said of his play thus far.

“But I think the major difference is probably my mental attitude towards it. After the car accident you realise what’s important in life and I think I was taking golf a little too seriously. I’ve just kind of relaxed and looked at the family and we’re just enjoying our time.”

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By Kent Gray
Eddie Pepperell has pole-position, Bryson DeChambeau second-place and proven pedigree, Tommy Fleetwood promising momentum.

The stage is set then for an absorbing moving day at the 31^st OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic, one that will also include Lee Westwood after the freshly-minted Abu Dhabi champion courageously snuck into the weekend on the +2 cutline.

An early 67 on Friday, to go with his opening 69, saw Pepperell set the clubhouse target at -8 by lunchtime of the second round and hold onto it all the way to dusk at Emirates Golf Club.

DeChambeau improved a Thursday 70 by three strokes but left a lot of putts out on the Majlis in his 67 as he chased down Pepperell. The 26-year-old American’s title defence is still very much on target though as he nestled into a three-way share of second with car crash escapee Dean Burmester (68) and Swedish half centurion Robert Karlsson (68), a shot adrift of Englishman Pepperell.

Fleetwood shifted gear a day ahead of the clichéd moving day, recovering from a three-over 75 with a flurry of eight birdies in a Friday low 65. Just four adrift of Pepperell, Fleetwood has raced from outside the cutline into genuine contention in a share of 11^th place.

After starting the day six over, Westwood’s fightback was equally gritty, a birdie-birdie finish, the last with a brilliant 3-wood and two putts at 18, capping a colourful two-bogey 68. Danny Willett also mustered a final hole birdie to squeeze in on the bubble but five other former champions – Alvaro Quiros, Rafa Cabrera Bello, David Howell (all +5), Stephen Gallacher (+6) and Haotong Li (+10) weren’t so lucky.

Major champion Graeme McDowell (+3) also has the weekend off, along with MENA Tour phenom Josh Hill (+10) after a pair of 77s.

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