News24
16 Jul 2019, 22:13 GMT+10
Cape Town - South Africa's Justin Harding will be looking to establish himself as another genuine contender when he makes his second appearance at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush this week.
Harding made his debut at the Open in 2013 after winning the African edition of International Final Qualifying (IFQ) but missed the cut in Muirfield then.
However, the world No 50 has since taken his game to new heights, with him notching back-to-back wins on the Asian Tour last year and emerging triumphant at the Qatar Masters on the European Tour earlier this year.
He was propelled further into the global spotlight after posting a commendable tied-12th result in his Masters tournament debut in April and could spring yet another surprise with a solid showing at Royal Portrush in a fortnight.
"I've been more consistent over the last 15 months and I'm becoming a little better mentally too. It's no longer really going through the highs and lows and emotional roller coaster, so to speak," said the 33-year-old.
"But that also comes with not really playing with the aggressive mindset game that I used to have in the past."
Harding made a spectacular entrance to the Asian Tour in July at the Indonesia Open last year.
He received an invitation to the tournament by virtue of his outstanding form on the Sunshine Tour, and he displayed that same blistering form en route to his maiden Asian Tour victory in Jakarta. The South African promptly took up membership with the Tour after his win.
Harding's breakthrough in Indonesia was the catalyst that saw him going on to clinch another win at the Royal Cup in Thailand a fortnight later, making him the first golfer in Tour history to win two times in as many starts.
After enjoying another four Top-10s, Harding would end the year in third place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
"I've been playing good golf and making fewer mistakes. That has been the key for me. I'm just about trying to keep yourself in the tournament for as long as possible," said Harding.
"It's a matter of doing what I've been doing and seeing what happens. Things will take care of themselves if I continue to post good results."
Harding will be joined by 10 other South Africans in the field at Royal Portrush.
Get a daily dose of Toronto Telegraph news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Toronto Telegraph.
More InformationSYDNEY, Australia - Stocks in Asia firmed on Thursday, after Wall Street rebounded on positive trade comments by President Trump.In ...
NEW DELHI, India - The board of directors at telecom major Bharti Airtel has approved fund raising of up to ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S, stocks rebounded on Wednesday as President Trump back-flipped again on comments about progress on ...
MANILA, Philippines - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) are partnering in ...
SYDNEY, Australia - Australian stocks continued to be sold off on Wednesday, a day after losing $47 billion of their ...
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - Tech giant Google on Tuesday appointed Indian-origin Sundar Pichai as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ...
LONDON - U.S. President Donald Trump accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being "two-faced" after Trudeau and other NATO ...
With a collective gasp and puzzled looks, the world was recently introduced to Tesla's newest vehicle. The so-called Cybertruck is ...
WASHINGTON - At the close of the news conference, an indignant Pelosi, the top Democrat in the U.S. Congress, took ...
NEW YORK - Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is attacking President Donald Trump as a laughingstock among world leaders in ...
Chinese telecom giant Huawei has filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court to throw out a Trump administration rule ...
London [UK], Dec 05 (ANI): Donald Trump has called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'two-faced' after a video of the ...