Brandon Stone faces his maiden title defence on the European Tour this week, but his confidence was boosted by a practice round of 61 on Monday at Glendower Golf Club ahead of the SA Open Championship.

‘I love Glendower, I’ve had a lot of good results out here since amateur days,’ he said. ‘Right now I’m very happy with the round and hopefully I can build on it this week.’

The 23 year old enjoyed a watershed 2016 season, in which he competed at the Olympics and won both the SA Open and the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

‘I think after the long December vacation to come back and know that you can still make a few birdies is quite nice. A lot of good memories floating through the system today, and it was good fun,’ he said.

When Stone arrived at the course it took him a while to find his courtesy vehicle, which had been parked right at the front of the queue. It was a novel experience for the youngster, who is still coming to terms with his new-found stardom.

‘It’s one of the things you dream about. To have that parking right in front with your name on, with the South African colours, it’s quite special. It took me a little while to find it – you don’t think it will be the one right in front,’ he explained.

Last year he shot rounds of 71, 67, 65, 71 to win his national open by two strokes over Christiaan Bezuidenhout, with Retief Goosen and Branden Grace sharing fourth place.

This year Stone has a good shot at defending his title, and some off-season rest helped to refill the energy tanks.

‘December was very relaxed,’ he said. ‘I stayed at home, watched some movies, played a few social rounds. A few weekend escapes, but nothing more than that.’

The SA Open begins on Thursday.