DEAN BURMESTER, 2023 JOBURG OPEN CHAMPION

Written By: Kamogelo Mogale

Dean Burmester edged Darren Fichardt to win the Joburg Open which took place at the Houghton Golf Course on Sunday. Trailing Thriston Lawrence by three shots overnight, Burmester managed to fire flawless six birdies to finish on 18 under par in the tournament to win his third DP World Tour title.

“I actually can’t describe what really happened but I was a little rusty coming in but honestly my team did such a really good job in getting me ready for this weekend. The two or three day preparations we did have was fantastic and it paid off and you know the fans are always fantastic back home in South Africa and I’m so happy to be home and getting a bit of braai meat and having a good time”, Burmester explains.

The opening round of the event got underway on Thursday with fan favourite Thriston Lawrence leading the chasing pack in the first three rounds.

Lawrence won this tournament back in 2021 and was looking to claim his second Joburg Open title in three years.

“It was really good, I had a game plan to be really aggressive and confident and I managed to pull it off. I had a job to do although I was one shot behind but I knew I had to post a solid round to get myself up there and I executed it nicely”.

Lawrence was looking to seal the deal for himself but he knew he needed to get through the likes of Dean Burmester, Darren Fichardt, Nikhil Rama and the defending champion Dan Bradbury.

“I may have led majority of the tournament but there was still a lot of golf to be played. There are seven odd guys who came and did some damage to achieve miracles so I needed to do the best that I can and see what happens”.

Burmester walked away with the 2023 Joburg Open title along with a prize money $188 144,13 (R 3 544 960.90) with Fichardt pocketing $120 446,20 (R 2 269 414.78) while Bradbury earned himself $68 982,82 (R 1 299 755.67). The 2023 Joburg Open was dominated by local players with the top ten including nine South African and only three other nationalities.

The Joburg Open was also the first event in the Open qualifying series which sees Burmester, Fichardt and Bradbury secure qualifications for the 152nd Open at the Royal Troon.

The DP World Tour now heads to the Investec South African Open which will tee off from the 30th November till the 3rd December 2023 at the Blair Atholl Golf Club.