LIV member wins Joburg title, qualifies for Open at Troon
Dean Burmester might not qualify for next summer’s Open Championship via his world ranking, but after Sunday, he won’t need to.
Burmester, a current LIV Golf member who plays for Stinger GC, punched his ticket for Royal Troon by winning the Joburg Open by three shots and grabbing one of three Open Qualifying Series spots on Sunday at Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg.
“I actually can’t describe what’s really happened,” said Burmester, who closed with a 6-under 64. “The fans are always fantastic at home in South Africa, and I’m so happy to be home and playing at home and eating a bit of braai meat and having a good time.”
The 34-year-old South African resigned his DP World Tour membership in May after joining LIV at the start of the year. He played every event for Stinger while notching five top-10s and finishing 14th in points individually. He also dropped from inside the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of last year to No. 154 entering this week as LIV Golf still doesn’t receive world-ranking points for its tournaments, having been denied earlier this year because of format issues.
With the Joburg Open being co-sanctioned by the DP World and Sunshine tours, Burmester was able to compete via one of the dozens of national exemptions. With his victory, he becomes the second active LIV player to win on the DPWT, following Cam Smith’s Australian PGA win last year.
Runner-up Darren Fichardt and third-place Dan Bradbury were the other two Open qualifiers.