Brandon Stone wins second big tournament
The young Brandon Stone, a product of the University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre, won his second big golf tournament this weekend after he became a professional player only three years ago.
Pretoria’s emerging golfing superstar Brandon Stone won the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek by seven strokes.
With this, Stone experienced his second big payday of 2016 after also winning the South African Open in January this year.
Stone started the last day with a three-stroke lead over his nearest pursuers, but he skipped away from them with a final round of four-under-par 68 to be in another league with his winning score of 22-under-par from second-placed Richard Sterne. The Belgian Thomas Detry was a further two strokes back in third.
Despite that gap, Stone said afterwards that he wasn’t really sure of victory until he walked over the bridge to the island green on the par-five 18th.
“I’ve seen many a player hit it into the water in the lake surrounding this green,” he said.
To make absolutely sure he didn’t add his name to that list of players who came to grief there, he had to play what he probably thinks is the least brave golf shot he’s ever played.
“It’s not often you have to hit a little 85-yard lay-up on a par-five. When I hit the tee shot, I really wanted it to go in the rough. I hit it so well, and I didn’t want it to get close, I didn’t want to have a shot in so I had to lay up,” he laughed.
“Any time you get a victory on home soil, it’s massive. I won the SA Open at the start of the year and there was a little more fire in my belly at the beginning of this week to end the year strong. Leopard Creek is an incredible place and I’ve love coming here since I was a kid carrying my Dad’s bag. So to have my name on the trophy now is obviously very special, but it’s tough to sum up how the emotions are running right now,” said Stone.
For the young golf star, who also has represented South Africa at the Olympics this year, the rest of the holiday season will be about savouring what he’s achieved in 2016. And then preparing to do more in 2017.
“I’ll give myself maybe a week of rest and then I’m going to get back into preparation. I’ve got a stern task ahead of me with Rory McIlroy coming out to the SA Open in January,” he concluded.
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