Dean Burmester stood head and shoulders above his countrymen to remain the lone South African in contention at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
The 29-year-old will have a flood of memories rushing back to him after his second round 65 – tied low round of the day with Sweden’s Alex Bjork and leader Matt Wallace – left him three shots of the lead at the halfway mark.
A year ago, Burmester played in the second to last group with eventual champion Jon Rahm. The South African, known for his big-hitting, found the water with his second shot into the 72nd hole as he chased an eagle to tie the Spaniard’s winning tally. He salvaged a par which helped secure a top five finish with 2018 another chance for him to break into the winner’s circle.
Birdies at 3, 4 and 5 and another at the seventh saw him move steadily through the field. The back nine yielded three more birdies as he crucially kept any mistakes at bay to set himself up for a big weekend as he takes full advantage of playing his way into this event on the back of a solid week at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
He heads out in round three with 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, just one of the big names in contention for the last event on the European Tour calendar.
Alongside Burmester at -8 are the likes of defending Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy, himself seeking a win on this tour for the first time in over two years. Reed is alone at -9 with Danny Willett one of three at -10.
Henrik Stenson, Rahm and Bjork make up the group at -7.
The field chases Wallace, who is looking to become fourth player since 2010 to win four times on tour, although there is a long way to go still.
