SA’s Major glory contenders
Amazing Grace, ’King’ Louis are best bets to challenge for honours
JORDAN Spieth may have dominated the golfing world in 2015, with Jason Day not too far behind, but it was oh so close and South Africa could very well have had three Major winners.
It was only in the Masters where a South African golfer didn’t really get himself into the mix, with Louis Oosthuizen finishing best of the local contingent – a 19th place – but in all three of the other Majors men from these shores were very much in contention.
At the US Open at Chambers Bay, Oosthuizen and Branden Grace finished tied second and tied fourth respectively, one and two shots adrift of winner Spieth, who’d capture his second Major in a row following his victory at Augusta.
At the Open Championship at St Andrews, Oosthuizen came agonisingly close to making it back-to-back wins at the home of golf, failing to seal the deal in a play-off.
Then, at the final Major of the year, the PGA Championship, Grace again came close, finishing third behind winner Day and runner-up Spieth.
Could 2016 be the year the likes of Grace break through in Major golf or Oosthuizen and Schwartzel add to the one Major that they have already bagged?
Then there are the host of other promising players, men like Jaco van Zyl and George Coetzee, who dream of hitting the big time, and let’s not discount Ernie Els and Retief Goosen completely.
Grace and Oosthuizen, though, appear to be the best bets to challenge the likes of Spieth, Day, Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy in the race for Major glory in the coming 12 months.
The 27-year-old Grace, who seems to always be in the mix wherever he tees it up in the world, believes he could be on the brink of big things.
“It would be great to kick on (this year),” he said at this week’s BMW SA Open at Glendower.
“2015 was a good year for me and I know it will be tough to follow up, but I feel I’m in a much better frame of mind this season. I’m a lot happier on and off the course.
“I really want to get into contention at the Majors again. I came so close last year and am looking forward to those challenges again.”
Grace says the fact he and some of his fellow countrymen came so close in 2015 serves as massive motivation going into this season.
“It really inspires you (when you get into contention). It gives you motivation, and going into this season we’ll have more experience.
“I know if I play that type of golf (as he did at the US Open and the PGA), then I can win a Major.”
What will help Grace in his quest is the fact that after bursting on the scene with a number of victories in 2012 he’s now played all over the world and has learnt to deal with the pressures of being a professional golfer.
“That’s long gone,” he says about his breakthrough season when he won the Joburg Open, the Volvo Golf Champions and the Volvo China Open on the European Tour.
He also captured his third Sunshine Tour title at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final and at the beginning of October won his fourth European Tour title in the year when he bagged the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
“Those were good steps for that time. The first win was obviously very special and probably the hardest to get, but as you progress you start finding you become a better player, both mentally and golfwise.
“Everything has improved a little bit over the last few years and the experience I’ve picked up in the Majors has been big for my game.
“I know I can compete with these guys. I have also learnt when to push (in a tournament) and how much. I’ve pushed a bit too much in the past, like at the Open (last year). Now I know when to stay back a bit.”
The goals for the year are simple: try to win a Major, get into the top 10 in the world and, hopefully, bag an Olympic medal.
Grace is currently 14th in the world rankings and is South Africa’s leading player and should it stay that way until the Olympics in Rio, he and the second-best South African will represent the country at the Games.
“Everyone wants to get a medal in the pocket, but it’s not something I’m thinking about. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. There’s still a lot of time before that comes around and anything can still happen.
“At the moment it’s myself and Louis (in the running to go to Rio), but a lot can change. Charl (Schwartzel) is not too far behind … all one needs is one good week in a big week and it all changes.
“But one of my major goals now is to get into the top 10 in the world. It’s something I’m definitely thinking about. It’s where I want to be. I’m pretty close and a win this week will take care of that, but I’ve got a lot to do before that happens.”
Picking up what would be a first SA Open title at Glendower tomorrow would undoubtedly set Grace on his way to achieving his 2016 goals.