Branden Grace has described being named The European Tour Golfer of the Month for January as “a dream come true” and has targeted more success this season.
The South African won his maiden European Tour title at the Joburg Open last month, the second event of the 2012 season, and it gained him entry to the Volvo Golf Champions at The Links at Fancourt the following week.
There he doubled his tally in sublime fashion, beating his compatriots and idols Ernie Els and Retief Goosen in a play-off.
It was the stuff of dreams for the 23 year old, who gained his card through the 2011 Qualifying School after he narrowly missed out on promotion from the Challenge Tour, finishing 24th in the Rankings.
“It has been amazing,” he said. “It would be a dream start for anyone. It was extra special because I came from the Qualifying School only a few weeks before. I really worked hard last year and just came up short in the Challenge Tour Rankings, but managed to find some form when I went to Q-School.
“I kept that form and played really well in those two weeks. I felt very comfortable out there and it proved that I should be playing at this level.
“Before we went to the first two events of the season in South Africa, my caddie Zack and I said we could definitely win one of those two. I really thought I would have won the other one, the Africa Open, before the Joburg Open to be honest, but it showed I can cope with different courses and different conditions.
“I think the momentum and everything just carried over into the Volvo Golf Champions and I was so amped just to be playing there. So it was absolutely awesome to win there as well.”
Grace pipped Louis Oosthuizen, who successfully defended his Africa Open title, and Robert Rock, who won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, to the Golfer of Month award, and says this is just the start of what he hopes will be a hugely successful year.
“Winning the Golfer of the Month award was a bit unexpected because I’d forgotten about it,” he said. “I looked on the internet and had all these messages saying congratulations. It’s awesome. It’s great to be up there with the elite at the moment and to get an award like this is a dream come true.
“I’m not going to stop here; I plan to keep going. The batteries are running pretty low at the moment and tiredness is creeping in. But once I get refreshed I’ll be ready to push on from here and I’m definitely going to try and win one or two more – or at least be in contention – this year.”
Should he be crowned Golfer of the Year in December, he would be only the third South African in European Tour history to win the award – after Els (1994, 2002 and 2003) and Goosen (2001).
“It’s a long way off to be thinking about Golfer of the Year, but to win that would be amazing,” he added.
