STONE OUT TO GATHER MOMENTUM
Brandon’s on a roll after an encouraging start this year. Now he aims to conquer Joburg skyline
BRANDON Stone likes to tick the boxes in his career as a young professional golfer. So Cape Town Open November 2015, box ticked. BMW South African Open, January 2016, ditto. Alfred Dunhill Championship December last year. Another tick.
“The SA Open and the Dunhill are particularly special as they’re European Tour events and to have won both last year means a lot to me. And this week’s Joburg Open is also a European Tour event and one of South Africa’s biggest tournaments so, yes, I’d also very much like to cross it off the list of tournaments I’ve won,” said Stone yesterday ahead of this year’s R16,5-million showpiece beginning at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington tomorrow.
“I’ve had an encouraging start to this year, playing a couple of events on the PGA Tour in America on tough golf courses just for the experience and then getting a top 10 (he tied for seventh) in the Dubai Desert Classic. I feel I learnt a lot on those overseas trips and my game has moved up another level,” said Stone who turns 24 in April but last year alone on the fairways of the world earned well in excess of R11-million in terms of SA currency.
“I’m looking forward to playing this week at Royal because it’s a place I know well from my amateur days, and I’ve also played three Joburg Opens there, once while still an amateur which I really enjoyed. I’d have loved to also be around for next week’s Tshwane Open (at Pretoria Country Club, which is also a European Tour event) because that’s one golf course I also feel good about. But I qualify for next week’s WGC-Mexico Championship (with its enormous $9,75-million prize fund) and I can’t miss that. It’s a chance for me to go up against the world’s best golfers – Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Rory McIlory and Jordan Spieth will all be there. I’ve never been to Mexico before and the course we’ll be playing in Mexico City (Chapultepec GC) is 500 metres higher above sea level than here in Joburg, and we consider this to be at high altitude, so it’ll be interesting to see just how far the ball will fly. My dad (professional Kevin Stone) will be travelling with me and he’s a great guy to have around,” says Brandon who won the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek late last year by a runaway six strokes with a fabulous 21-under-par return of 267.
Last year’s Joburg Open was won by Stone’s fellow South African Haydn Porteous, a year or so his junior and his great rival throughout their amateur days and as rookie professionals on the Challenge Tour. “Yeah, it was great for Haydn last year and hopefully he and I can put on another good show this week,” said Stone yesterday.
Porteous didn’t have the best of seasons in 2016 following his Joburg Open success but he’s a huge talent and, like Stone, could well be a factor this week.
Twelve months ago Porteous, 21 at the time, became the third youngest South African winner in European Tour history after Charl Schwartzel (at the 2005 Alfred Dunhill Championship) and Anton Haig (2007 Johnnie Walker Classic).
Richard Sterne and Charl Schwartzel have picked up two victories apiece, with Sterne bidding to become the first player to win the title three times when he returns to the field this week.
Branden Grace, George Coetzee and Porteous round off the roll-call of South African winners of the event.
The Joburg Open has the largest field of the season, with 210 players gathering at the club with play on both the East and West Courses.