Centurion - Four players led by Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Dean Burmester will carry the hopes of South Africa in the PGA Championship, which starts at Oak Hill Country Club, in New York, on Thursday.
Bezuidenhout is the SA No 1 at 77th in the world rankings but will not exactly be brimming with confidence. The 28-year-old has four missed cuts in the 12 events he has played this year, with a best finish of 11th which came at The American Express way back in January.
Indeed it would take a brave punter to put money on Bezuidenhout for the win this week, and improving on his best finish of 30th at a major will be a far safer bet.
The big-hitting Burmester, meanwhile, may just raise a few eyebrows this week at 85th in the world rankings. He comes off his best finish in a major which was a share of 11th at The Open Championship last year, as he did not tee it up at The Masters in April.
The 33-year-old is now an experienced campaigner, and despite his switch to LIV Golf he could be well-suited to the testing layout at Oak Hill which will favour the longer hitters in the field.
Joining Bezuidenhout and Burmester will be Ockie Strydom who will be making his first appearance at a major. Despite it being his debut, it’s been a long road to the biggest stage of golf for the 38-year-old.
“I’m trying not to approach anything differently. It definitely sounds nice to say I’m playing in majors, and it’s a word that changes the mindset,” said Strydom.
“But I’ll try and approach it as just another golf tournament where I have the opportunity to play against the best players in the world.”
Completing the SA quartet will be Thriston Lawrence. The SA Open champion is ranked 96th in the world, and already has some experience in the ‘big four’ with a tie for 42nd at The Open Championship last year in his major debut.
In fact, his win at the SA Open last year was his third DP World Tour win, as the 26-year-old keeps up his steady progression in the game.
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IOL Sport