Abu Dhabi: New kid on the block Branden Grace — the first player since Fred Couples in 1995 to follow up his first ever win with a second consecutive victory last weekend — cited tiredness for his failure to continuing his form in Abu Dhabi.
The 23-year-old South African missed the cut after finishing on four over par 148 (75, 73) at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, disappointing those who had their eye on golf's hottest new prospect.
After finishing 179th in last year's Race to Dubai, Grace, a relative unknown, had to return to Qualifying School in December to earn his tour card for 2012 after just three top-tens in eight appearances. But the experience did anything but demoralise the determined Pretorian.
In three events this season, Grace has finished 14th at The African Open and won both the Joburg Open and Volvo Golf Championship back-to-back, firing him into the European Tour money-list lead and breaking the top 100 in the world rankings. He's now 92nd in the world, having come from 271st at the end of 2011.
Grace is now looking to extend his sudden flourish, with €570,000 (Dh2.74 million) collected in just three weekends, to prove he can also compete for honours outside his country.
Grace said: "Last season I played really well but couldn't get a win under my belt. I went to Q-School, worked hard and achieved my goal and got my card. That was already a big step.
Great boost
"I took the African Open for granted a bit then I realised I have to go for it, it's not going to come on its own. I played superb in Joburg, my putting came on and I made the most of my opportunities — fortunately that rolled into last week too [in George]. I wanted to do well there because it was home soil and a home crowd. That gave me a great boost. To win at home was unbelievable. It still hasn't sunk in yet.
"It's a pity I couldn't drag all that into this week too, but tiredness crept in. When things don't go well you make mistakes that are bigger than normal. I hit a couple of shots which I wouldn't normally have hit and that's a sign of fatigue. I'm happy to take the weekend off and relax to take it on again next week.
"The more you achieve the greater people expect of you. I won against some big guys in South Africa [Retief Goosen and Ernie Els] so now people are looking up to me and want the best for me.
"It's frustrating to follow it with this, but I'm still happy with my golf and where it's at so I'll try and focus on keeping it going. I've sat down and planned my schedule and I'm positive about what's upcoming."
