Knysna-Plett Herald | Three-time European Tour winner Branden Grace remains humble

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Three-time European Tour winner Branden Grace remains humble
14:30 (GMT+2), Thu, 17 May 2012

Branden Grace’s Vodacom Origins Simola hopes were thwarted by a double bogey at the par-five seventh. (Photo: Luke Walker/Sunshine Tour)

SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - He may have won three European Tour events, catapulted 205 positions in the golf world rankings and rewritten a piece of European Tour history over the last four months, but Knysna's Branden Grace has no delusions of grandeur.

On the eve of the Vodacom Origins of Golf at the Simola Country Club in Knysna last week, the world number 66 told reporters that the past four months have been incredible, but there is still a mountain of hard work ahead. "I think it's pretty close to magnificent what I've achieved so far this year, but I know that it's the culmination of all the hard work and grind that went into the five years before 2012," he said, "finally breaking into the winner's circle really boils down to a couple of things. Putting, confidence, trusting myself and learning to win."

Grace had been playing well in 2011 but said he just couldn't finish the job. "So I went back to the way I was putting some years ago. More putts started to drop, my consistency improved and my confidence grew. Then I recruited Zach Rashego as my caddy before European Tour qualifying school last year. It's funny, really, because I asked a few other guys to go to Q-School with me, but they couldn't make it. I called him, told him he was my last resort and he accepted. The rest is history, but someone was sure looking after me."

Grace says Rashego's wealth of experience from working with 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen for nearly a decade has made a world of difference. "I think Zack was the key that turned the lock to my winning. He got me past that last hurdle because of his experience. Zack knows what to say, when to say it and when to let me be."

Grace says winning the Joburg Open was a mental breakthrough. "I was confident after getting my European Tour card, but I wasn't playing at my best. It was a really tough tournament to win, but once I did it, my confidence kept growing."

Knowing that he was being called a 'two-hit wonder' in the press after he lifted the Volvo Golf Champions title, made winning the Volvo China Open in April all the more significant. "Winning in China meant I could win outside of South Africa; it meant I could really compete on the international stage. I am bursting with confidence. I believe I can win, every time I tee it up now. Whether it's here at the Vodacom Origins or at The Open. Big or small, I believe I can win and I'm playing like a winner now, not just someone who needs to make a cut and earn a cheque."

Golf pundits in Europe are hailing Grace as the next big thing. Their peers in the United States are saying he still needs to prove himself on that side of the Pacific. But the 23-year-old Knysna golfer is pretty clear about his own expectations. "My immediate goals are to protect my number four ranking on the Race to Dubai and to get inside the top 65 in the world golf rankings. I want to qualify for all the Majors, play both in Europe and the USA and win the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit. Then I'll start thing about the world top 20."

Not qualifying for the Masters has definitely influenced his goals. "I was gutted when I didn't make it to Augusta. I have to make sure that it never happens again. I'm into the Open and the top 100 in the world golf rankings get into the PGA Championship, so I'm okay there, too. But I need to climb six spots in the next couple of weeks to make the US Open. That's the immediate goal."

The next four weeks has Grace really excited, especially the chance to silence his US critics. "I'm off to Spain for the Volvo World Match Play and I'm really excited about that. Everyone is joking about the Volvo connection, and maybe it will be three in a row, who knows, but the experience is going to be incredible. Then it's the BMW PGA Championship. I've never played at Wentworth, but from what I've watched on television, it's looks like the kind of course that will suit me well."

And then, a coveted spot in the field at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio at the end of May. "I received an invitation from Jack Nicklaus to play the Memorial and I'm really psyched about that. I read a lot and Jack once wrote that records write themselves. History is always going to re-write itself and it just happens. So, in a sense I'm glad that I've been able to put my hand up and wrote a little history myself, but like he says, it just happened. Right now I want to focus on the future. First, I need to take my A-game onto the course at Simola and see if I can finally win here.

Then take that game to Spain. I want to make sure I use all my opportunities right now. As for the future, perhaps a top 20 spot at the end of the season is not too far-fetched. But it's only May, so let's take this one step at a time."

ARTICLE: LALI STANDER