MUTARE-BORN Dean Burmester and rising golf star Scott Vincent will add some Zimbabwean flavour to the second edition of the lucrative LIV Golf League which gets underway tomorrow.
The second season of the Saudi-funded league, which is a rival to the USA-based PGA Tour, will tee off on Friday at Mayakoba Resort’s El Camaleon Golf Course in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
The LIV Golf League has lured many big names from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour with record purses of $25 million for 54-hole events.
While the circuit is laden with high-profile players including former world number one-ranked players and major champions, there will also be some Zimbabwean flavour on the tour with the duo of Burmester and Vincent.
Although Burmester now competes under the South African flag, he retraces his roots to Zimbabwe, where he was born .
His father Mark was an elite cricket player and represented Zimbabwe in international cricket, while his mother Michelle was a top-notch golfer who holds the women’s course record at both their home club Claremont Golf Course in Nyanga and at the Royal Harare Golf Club.
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Burmester followed his mother’s footsteps into golf and has posted nine wins since turning pro in 2010.
He earned his PGA Tour card last season before being lured to the LIV Golf League, where he will be a member of Louis Oosthuizen’s all-South African Stinger GC, whose line-up also includes Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace.
Whereas Burmester will be in his debut season in LIV Golf, Vincent is returning to the circuit for a second season after featuring in all events last term.
Vincent — who represented the country at the 2016 Olympics — has racked up five career wins, with his most famous triumph coming in the 2022 International Series in England that preceded LIV Golf’s inaugural event in London.
He also won the International Series Order of Merit during the 2022 Asian Tour season to secure playing privileges for the 2023 LIV Golf League.
Vincent, who is nicknamed “Mhondoro” due to his fearlessness on the golf course, will be part Iron Heads GC team alongside captain Kevin Na and Sihwan Kim both from the USA and New Zealander Danny Lee.
The 30-year-old Zimbabwean played for four different teams last season, including one start with Na’s Iron Heads at LIV Golf Bedminster.
Vincent then landed at Torque GC for the next event and stayed with that team for the remainder of the season.