ZIMBABWE’S Brendon de Jonge will have a final shot at a major golf championship this year when he takes part at this week’s PGA Championship being played at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, from tomorrow through Sunday.
DANIEL NHAKANISO
The PGA Championship, which carries a prize fund of $10 000 000, is one of the four major championships in professional golf and the season’s final major after the Masters, the US Open and the Open Championship.
De Jonge, who has earned a whopping $1 105 495 in 27 starts this season, has performed well on the big stage this year, making the cut at the Masters and the US Open.
In his first ever appearance at the Masters in May, De Jonge finished in a tie for position 38 and was one of only two African golfers to make the 36-hole cut in the tournament together with South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen.
A month later at the US Open, De Jonge was the continent’s best performer as he tied for position 28 ahead of South African major champions Ernie Els, Oosthuizen and Retief Goosen.
De Jonge’s best result of the season came in the Wells Fargo Championship in May, where he finished in a tie for sixth despite opening his tournament with a disastrous 80.
The 2016 Rio Olympics hopeful however missed the cut in his last appearance in a major at the Open Championship held at Royal Liverpool Golf Club last month and will be hoping to make a mark in Kentucky.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The 34-year-old Zimbabwean golfer will also be hoping to draw some confidence from his performance at the World Golf Championships (WGC) Bridgestone Invitational last weekend.
A strong finish to the tournament saw De Jonge finishing tied for 37th place to pocket a cool $64 500 for his effort which took his total earnings for 2014 season to $1 105 495.
De Jonge was early this week drawn to play alongside Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson and American Nick Watney in the opening two rounds at Valhalla Golf Club and the trio will tee off from the first tee at 1400 hours (Zimbabwean time) tomorrow.
