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Jaco van Zyl and Brandon Stone will carry South Africa’s hopes when the men’s golf tournament tees off at Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro from Thursday.
The duo will be out to make a mark in the event that will usher in golf as an Olympic sport for the first time in 112 years.
They will showcase their skills on the course to prove that they really have what it takes to compete against some of the world’s finest golfers.
This after they were chosen as Mzansi’s representatives at the Games after Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who were earlier earmarked to participate in the Games, withdrew.
Van Zyl and Stone will want to prove they are not in Rio to just add to the numbers, but to compete and bring home medals at the end of the contest.
The 35-year-old Van Zyl, who comes from Pretoria and campaigns on the European and Sunshine tours, won the Eye of Africa PGA Championship on the first extra hole of a play-off against Dean Burmester at the Eye of Africa Signature Course at Eikenhof in February.
He finished tied 12th at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in May.
Stone (23) from Rustenburg, won the SA Open Championship at Glendower Country Club in Ekurhuleni in January.
He is capable of hitting great tee shots that enable him to find the fairway with ease.
The duo should work very hard to ensure they achieve low scores in the first two rounds at the Olympics to ensure that they do not miss the cut to finish the tournament.
As things stand, competition on the fairways will be intense as the field comprise big names, including Henrik Stenson (Denmark), Bubba Watson (US), Martin Kaymer (Germany) and Justin Rose (UK).
Stenson is currently enjoying a rich run in form, having won the British Open at Royal Troon in Scotland last month.
But the South Africans should not feel intimidated by the presence of these stars. The two should ensure they play well and cope with the course layout and other hazards at the Brazil venue.
There is no doubt the pairings will be exciting for the duration of the Olympics as every golfer will be out there with one aim – to have their names called on to the podium to collect medals at the end of the showdown.
Let the big tee-off begin.
