Dean Burmester

Seven times a winner on his home Sunshine Tour, Burmester achieved his second European Tour victory in May when he stormed to a five-stroke victory at the Tenerife Open

The success was sandwiched between two wins in the Canary Islands by his fellow South African Garrick Higgo and, like Higgo, he then qualified for Royal St George’s on June 27 off the circuit’s ‘Race to Dubai’ points list.

Born in Zimbabwe, this will be his Open Championship debut, but he has played in two U.S. Opens and one PGA Championship.

Perhaps the most special of his titles since turning professional in 2010 remains the 2015 Zimbabwe Open at Royal Harare, the place where his mother held the course record.

“I have lots of memories of this place and the Zimbabweans who played here – guys like Nick Price and Mark McNulty were huge inspirations growing up,” he said after triumphing. “This is my sixth year in a row playing this tournament and the locals come out to support me every time. To pull off a win in front of them is probably the most emotional thing I’ve done in my life.”

Burmester reached a high of 86th in the world the following season.