South African Dean Burmester tees off on the 15th hole during the second round of the LIV Golf Hong Kong tournament on Friday. The Southern Guards star is tied for first with two rounds to play.
Image: LIV GOLF
A stiff neck could not deter Southern Guards GC star Dean Burmester from a strong fightback to finish tied for first after day two of the LIV Golf Hong Kong tournament.
Burmester, playing in the same group as co-leader Carlos Ortiz on -14, sank a four-and-a-half-metre birdie putt on the 18th hole to tie for first after a brilliant fightback.
The South African was just one-under-par through his first 10 holes on Friday before making four consecutive birdies to get himself back into contention. On the fourth tee he received some treatment on his neck, which helped loosen him up.
He then ended his round with the spectacular putt to grab a share of the lead with a six-under 64. On the opening day, Burmester carded an eight-under-par score.
“Today I woke up a little stiff,” said the Southern Guards star, who has won tournaments in each of the last two seasons.
“I slept a bit funny, which is weird, and worked hard on the physio bed. I then came straight back after the wait for the first tee and managed to get my physio out there, and that made a massive difference. I got a little bit of work done on the fourth tee and then I was away.
“I’ve been swinging my clubs nicely for a while. I do tend to try and hit it a bit too hard at times and that is when I get out of rhythm and out of sync. But when I get to a golf course like this, I love it. You don’t have to hit it that far. You must just position your ball right. Obviously my distance helps every now and then, but it is all about positional play and second shots.”
Burmester and Ortiz are being chased by Thomas Detry (-13) of 4Aces GC and fourth-placed Jon Rahm (-12) of Legion XIII. The top five is completed by three other players on 11-under.
Southern Guards (-23) currently find themselves tied for third in the team competition thanks to the exploits of Burmester, while captain Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel made up for their day-one struggles, fighting back to finish five-under and three-under respectively. Oosthuizen made a fine eagle on the par-five second hole.
Branden Grace, who claimed top-10 finishes in both LIV tournaments so far, is tied for 23rd on six-under.
Burmester says it will be all about hanging in there over the next two rounds as he looks to claim his first tournament win of the season.
“You just have to hang around like a bad fart, you know,” the South African said laughingly.
“That is how golf is. You must just hang around. You never know when it is your time to win and it is difficult to win. As long as you have a chance, that is all you want.”