10th Jan 2012 | Sony Open
Sony Open Golf Tips: Brendon De Jonge
If tournaments lasted only three rounds, he’d be amongst the best on tour. Can draw confidence from a T20 here last year.
In his third consecutive season on the PGA Tour, Brendon De Jonge has been inching his way towards a maiden victory. In 2011, the John Deere Classic was there for the taking but a final round 74 scuppered his chances - he just couldn’t buy a putt on the Sunday.
It was a similar case at last year’s Sony Open. He went into the final round tied for 8th only for his putter to go cold as he slipped back to 20th. Encouragingly the rest of his game is tailor-made for Hawaii. He was T9 for driving accuracy and T1 for greens in regulation at the tournament last year. For a big man he isn’t a prodigious striker of the ball but he is unerringly straight.
The key for De Jonge is getting his putting to function under pressure. I admit this is still a concern. In 2011 he ranked 19th on tour for scoring average before the cut, 27th for round three scoring average but 135th for his final round.
The Zimbabwean is three-quarters of the way to becoming a top class golfer and i’m hoping that his recent experiences will make him all the stronger. At 150/1 with Skybet he is worth the risk with ¼ odds for a top five finish.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 17:42 10th Jan, 2012 but subject to change
