Player Blog: Dean Burmester

Ahead of this week’s Trophée Hassan II in Morocco, Dean Burmester writes about his emotional maiden victory, Sergio’s Masters win, spending time with Gary Player, hitting the ball a long, long way and more…

My win at Tshwane was massively emotional. I had my whole family there, I had a big support base and I give a huge amount of credit to the South African fans. They came out in their numbers again and supported me the whole way around. It was really special. Now, I’m looking forward to playing some big tournaments in the Rolex Series and hopefully I can qualify for a couple of Majors too to keep the ball rolling.

I didn’t really celebrate until the Wednesday after. A lot of concentration went into that Sunday so we just had a few quiet drinks and a braai with my family chatting about the emotions. But on Wednesday I went out with a few good mates including a few Protea cricketers including Rilee Rossouw, who plays for South Africa. It was a long night…

Seeing Sergio win the Masters was incredible. I think the whole Tour was behind him. Nothing against Justin Rose, who played fantastic golf and must have been heart-broken, but I’d say that 99.9 per cent of the world was rooting for Sergio there. He’s probably deserved a Major for the last 18 years of his career, he’s competed so well so many times, he’s finished second so many times, it was just great to see him finally do it. He holed some great putts on Sunday and I think that boosted his morale. He said in lots of interviews how calm he felt and I think a lot of guys who have won tournaments can relate to that. You just wake up in the morning and there is something there. You just know. I know he’s getting married soon, too, and that changes your life and perspective on things. Also, I know when I had my son I started playing some fantastic golf, so watch out world if they have kids soon, too…

It was great to spend some time with Gary Player recently. It was amazing. He came to speak at my old school, Grey College in Bloemfontein, and promised the headmaster there that he would take the first team golf boys out for a weekend on his farm, which is only about two hours away from where I live. I got the call the Tuesday after the Tshwane Open from the school asking if I wanted to come and of course I said yes. And then, even better, I got a message from Gary saying he was excited to have me and thanking me for coming. It was great, he took me aside and gave me some amazing insight into his career, some great stories and some great advice on world golf, travel and things I don’t know too much about. It was really nice of him to take me under his wing for a day and to have a legend of the game teach me a few things. Between him and Ernie, we have two of the best ambassadors in golf from our country and we are very proud of that.

This week’s course in Morocco is one of the toughest we play all year. I shot two over last year and finished in the top 15. It’s unbelievable, though, and has some of the best par threes in the world. That ninth hole in particular: it’s 188 yards but in the wind last year I think it was a four iron into that island green. Spectacular. It’s nice for us South Africans with some Kikuyu grass like we have back home so it feels familiar to chip and putt on.

There’s nothing better than getting the praise of your peers. It’s nice coming on to the range and having people shaking your hand after the win and congratulating you. It’s a great feeling. I’ve had a couple of wins on the Sunshine Tour over the last few years but this one was really special. I might be still in Africa this week, but I’m on the European Tour!

I’m known for hitting it long but I think people are born with speed in them. Some guys can run fast, or row fast, or swim fast and some people can create clubhead speed and hit the ball a long way. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been born with that and I’ve been able to enhance it. I’m not sure if there is one particular tip for getting the ball out there but I’d just say turn your shoulders as far as you can and rip it. Grip it and rip it!

Away from the golf course I love to go fishing. I’m really keen on Bass Fishing and deep sea fishing and any chance I get I like to take a weekend and go and do a bit of fishing and find a nice quiet place to help clear my head. It’s therapeutic. I don’t have too many other hobbies but I love watching sport, almost any sport, and keeping up to date with all the top sport around the world.

I love spending time with my family. Whether that’s going camping or doing everyday things like going shopping even! I just love it, getting around with them and seeing friends. I have one boy, Jordan, who is almost two now and he comes out to some events. He’ll be there at Wentworth, we’re coming up early to the UK and it’ll be nice to explore England a little bit. I think it’ll be good for him to do a bit of travel and see the world.

I think in golf your time comes when your time comes. A lot guys might say they were overdue their wins, or getting to the top, and maybe there is a small bit of you that might also think that, but look at Sergio: he played 74 Major Championships before he won. When it’s your week, it’s your week. I’ll keep pushing and maybe I’ll be Augusta next year? Who knows…

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