Ockie Strydom tees off at the recent Italian Open. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Ockie Strydom is determined not to let the magnitude of the occasion divert his focus when he makes his Major debut this week, as one of four South Africans in the field at the 105th PGA Championship.
“I’m trying not to approach anything differently,” Strydom said in the build-up to the top-flight tournament which tees off at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York on Thursday.
“It definitely sounds nice to say I’m playing in Majors, and it’s a word that changes the mindset, 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.”
Strydom will be joined in the field by Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Thriston Lawrence and Dean Burmester.
Lawrence, playing the second Major of his career, will also be making his debut in the PGA Championship.
Bezuidenhout will be playing in his fourth PGA Championship, with his best finish in this Major being tied 30th in 2021, while Burmester will tee it up in his third PGA Championship, having finished tied 59th in 2021 before missing the cut last year.
The quartet will be looking to claim the first South African victory at the PGA Championship since Gary Player lifted the trophy for the second time in 1972.
Louis Oosthuizen has been the best performing SA player at the event in recent years, taking the runner-up spot in 2017 and 2021.
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