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Stone ready to roll in Cape Town defence

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KOSTER, SOUTH AFRICA - MARCH 12: Brandon Stone during day 4 of the 2016 Investec Cup at Millvale Private Retreat on March 12, 2016 in Koster, South Africa. EDITOR'S NOTE: For free editorial use. Not available for sale. No commercial usage. (Photo by Petri Oeschger/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images)

Last year, Brandon Stone had yet to win a professional golf tournament. He turned that around with a victory at Royal Cape Golf Club and he’s back to defend that title in this week’s Lion of Africa Cape Town Open, presented by Sun International, which tees off on Thursday.

He followed that maiden victory by winning the BMW South African Open Championship, and he was catapulted on to the world stage, where he finished his first year on The European Tour in 50th place, and he’s the highest-ranked player in the field this week.

‘The year has flown by,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe it’s a year ago since I won here. It’s going to be a very special week for me, and a new experience because I haven’t felt what it’s like to be a defending champion yet.’

While the end of the season on The European Tour didn’t bring him the kind of results he would have hoped for, he’s confident that a turnaround in his fortunes is imminent. ‘The scoring hasn’t been great, but I feel like I’ve been playing some good golf. The swing feels great and the putting is really starting to feel good again – that should worry the guys I’m playing against,’ he laughed.

He’s going to have all four previous champions ranged against him: Jake Roos won the inaugural tournament in 2012 in a four-way playoff, and Tjaart van der Walt took his maiden Sunshine Tour title the next year. Jaco Ahlers followed in 2014, and then came Stone.

In addition, four-time US PGA Tour winner Heath Slocum has made the trip to the Mother City to get his career back on track after a lengthy break from action, and he can’t speak highly enough of everything he’s encountered so far. ‘The course is amazing,’ he said. ‘It’s such a great golf course with the tree lines, it’s got some great dog-legs, and the wind’s going to dictate, and it’s going to be a really good test. It’s just amazing to come across such a professionally run tour.’

For Stone, the wind is just one of the challenges the week will pose. ‘There’s some thick rough out there,’ he said. ‘There are some patches out there that will eat your ball up, so you’ve got to keep it on the straight and narrow.’

That’s the secret to success on any golf course.