Buoyed by his best result of the season so far, Nick Bachem arrives at Glendower Golf Club “super excited” as he makes his first DP World Tour title defence at the Jonsson Workwear Open.
The German claimed a four-shot victory in this event last year, when it was played at Steyn City, on just his 12th start to become the fastest German winner in DP World Tour history.
Now into his second campaign, Bachem has spoken about tempering expectations and using his growing maturity to play with freedom as he looks to land further silverware.
After mixed fortunes over his first eight events of the 2024 Race to Dubai, Bachem arrives in a confident mood after finishing tied fourth at the SDC Championship.
“I’m super excited to be back even if it’s a different golf course. But having had a look at Glendower it looks pretty nice," said Bachem.
"It feels good to come back to a tournament where you have a positive feeling and I’ll be trying to repeat it.
“I’ve had a great season with so many good things to learn. I played nice last week so I’ve got a lot of confidence coming into this week. But my focus is still the same as it was last year when I won – play golf and have fun.”
While this is the first time Glendower is hosting the event, the venue has plenty of championship pedigree, including staging South Africa’s national Open on several occasions.
South Africa’s Robin Williams has good memories of the course, having won his first Sunshine Tour title here at the Fortress Invitational last October.
“You have to play well around this course," said Williams.
"There is no hiding here. It’s definitely a driver golf course – if you drive the ball well you can score.
"That’s what worked for me when I won here last year – my driving was good."
Williams, 22, narrowly lost a play-off for a maiden DP World Tour title at the SDC Championship on Sunday, but is still confident about the week to come.
“There are a lot of positives from last week," he said.
"Yes it was a shame I couldn’t get the job done, but my time will come. I’m playing good consistent golf and I’m happy to be back at a golf course that suits me and where I’ve had success.”
England’s Jordan Smith returns to a golf course where he finished third in the 2017 BMW South African Open, missing out by only one shot on a spot in the play-off between champion Graeme Storm and Rory McIlroy.
“That was back in 2017 but it only feels like yesterday," he reflected.
"It’s great being back and enjoying those good memories. This is a challenging golf course off the tee. You hit a lot of driver here and it can get pretty narrow in places.
"The wind that blew in the pro-am could be interesting, especially for us Europeans getting used to the altitude here in Johannesburg.”
