George – The Dimension Data Pro-Am has six major champions on its list of champions over 26 years, and defending champion Wilco Nienaber clearly has a deep desire to become a member of that illustrious group as this year’s edition of the tournament tees off on Thursday.
Nienaber won his maiden professional tournament in the 2021 edition after a play-off with Sweden’s Henric Sturehed, and he seemed to be headed for the golfing stratosphere at that point. But eight missed cuts on the European Tour after that, and 14th and 31st in just two starts on the PGA Tour were scant reward for what seems like limitless potential.
He will feel comfortable coming back to the scene of his victory, though, and will want to take the chance to reset one of the most promising international careers. “The win feels like such a long time ago,” he told the Sunshine Tour. “In fact, last year felt like a long year. But I’m pretty sure I’ll relive some of those memories. Having said that, the focus is on this week and not last year. I want to win it again this year and not get stuck in last year.”
With Ernie Els’ former regular caddie Ricci Roberts on his bag, there is reason to believe some of the frustrating errors which crept into Nienaber’s game and caused his form to seem so disappointing.
In reality, his prodigious length off the tee combined with some of the sublime touches around the greens he showed South African fans last year make for a pretty intoxicating combination, and it’s not difficult to see how an experienced caddie can help him figure out when to use each part of his game to the best effect.
He was superb in his victory last year, as his putter came to the party to win him the play-off. Recreating that will be a tough challenge, with the field filled with former champions in Sweden’s Philip Eriksson, local player Jaco Ahlers, Jaco van Zyl, Hennie Otto and two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen who won the tournament in 2002.
Because the tournament is co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour, there are players from 27 countries besides South Africa in the field as the Challenge Tour begins its 2022 season with a five-tournament swing through South Africa.
For Nienaber, joining Nick Price and Derren Fichardt as the only two-time winners of the tournament would be a great start to a 2022 campaign which could lead to the success for which he seems destined.
Maybe, in time, he will join Price, Darren Clark, Goosen, Trevor Immelman, Louis Oosthuizen and Paul Lawrie as a major championship winner who won the Dimension Data Pro-Am too.
SA Tour Golf