Purcell feels at home on South African links; Dunne begins new journey
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - FEBRUARY 10: Conor Purcell on Montagu course during round 1 on the Links course at the Dimension Data Pro-Am held at Fancourt Golf Estate on February 10, 2023 in George, South Africa.(Photo by Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour)
Conor Purcell may be over 8,000 miles from Ireland but he is enjoying some home comforts as he prepares to tee it up in the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship at Humewood Golf Club.
The Portmarnock golfer has made an impressive start to the Road to Mallorca, currently sitting in tenth position on the Rankings, and he is looking to build on solid foundations this week in Port Elizabeth as the four-week stretch of tournaments co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour comes to an end.
The 25-year-old has grown up in Ireland playing links golf courses and he will be looking to use that experience to his advantage at Humewood Golf Club, South Africa’s only true links course.
“It feels a lot closer to home this week,” said Purcell, who is joined in this week’s field by Ruaidhri McGee and Paul Dunne. “The course is links in style being by the sea and the wind is blowing this week. There are a lot of similarities to home which is nice.
“It’s going to be windy this week so I’m going to have to get used to hitting shots in the wind again and not getting too fixated on my numbers. It’s going to be important to hole those momentum putts and fight for some of your pars out there.”
Purcell finished in seventh place at the season-opening Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open, before finishing in a tie for sixth at the Dimension Data Pro-Am and he is reaping the rewards of the work he put into his game during the off-season.
“It’s been a great experience in South Africa and every city has its own traits,” he said. “Over the winter I tried to focus on a few fundamentals, and it’s been nice to see that work carry over into the season and perform under tournament conditions.
“I’ve started the season well, so I want to continue that form now. It’s important not to over-emphasize and I just need to focus on each tournament as it comes.”
Purcell will be joined in Port Elizabeth by Road to Mallorca Number One Adam Blommé and three-time DP World Tour winner Brandon Stone.
Dunne is making his first appearance on tour since he finished tied 47th in the Spanish Open last October.
The Greystones man will play almost exclusively on the Challenge Tour this year and believes he can become an even better player than when he held off Rory McIlroy to win the British Masters in 2017.
“My goal would be to get past where I was before," he told the Irish Independent last year. "Everyone can have their own opinions on other people but for me, I know I have the ability to go further than I did. And it was great to have those experiences. But I will be striving for something new, not just to regain what I already had.
"I feel like I'm in a new part of my life and I'm chasing something else not chasing something I used to have. That's the approach I have. "I am just trying to play well. I feel like I have a good understanding of what I'm doing. I feel like I can hit the shots I need to hit and then go out and enjoy competing with really good players and try to beat them."
The first round will get underway at 6:30 am local time, with Purcell teeing it up alongside Blommé and South African Casey Jarvis at 7:20 am.
