Branden Grace has 9 career wins. (Getty)
South Africa has produced some of the better golfers to ever play the game — Gary Player, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen are the first to come to mind.
And the new crop of Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace have already done some big things on the course.
Grace burst on the scene in 2012, becoming the first player in the history of the European Tour to win his first four events in the same year. That year he also won the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit.
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Here’s what you need to know about Grace:
1. Grace Is South African
(Getty)
As mentioned, South Africa has been a hotbed for golf.
Player, Els, Goosen, Schwartzel, Oosthuizen, Trevor Immelman, Rory Sabbatini. That’s a lot of titles and purse money won right there.
The 27-year-old Grace was born in Pretoria and began his amateur career winning the South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 2006. He then turned pro in 2007.
2. He Plays on Both the European & Sunshine Tours
Grace spends much of his professional life on the European and Sunshine Tour, which is based in his home country of South Africa.
Grace, though, does play on the PGA Tour occasionally and definitely in the majors when he qualifies.
Here are his major tournament results:
Masters Tournament — 2013 T18; 2014 CUT; 2015 CUT
U.S. Open — 2012 T51, 2013 CUT
The Open Championship — 2009 T43; 2012 T77; 2013 T64; 2014 T36
PGA Championship — 2012 CUT; 2013 CUT; 2014 T46
Grace finished tied for 42nd in the 2015 Players Championship.
3. Grace Has 9 Career Wins
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Grace collected his first professional victory at 22 in the Sunshine Tour’s Coca-Cola Charity Championship.
He really burst onto the scene in 2012, when he won 5 events, including the Volvo Golf Champions in January. In that tournament, Grace defeated South African legends Retief Goosen and Ernie Els in a playoff for the win.
The week before he won the Joburg Open.
4. He Has Won 3 Times Since December 2014
Grace has had a successful run since the end of 2014, winning 3 times on the two tours.
December 2014 — Alfred Dunhill Championship (Joint event)
January 2014 — Qatar Masters (European Tour)
February 2015 — Dimension Data Pro-Am (Sunshine Tour)
Grace ended 2014 ranked 82nd in the world. He is at No. 40 in the latest installment.
5. Grace Was Part of the International Presidents Cup Team In 2013
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Grace was a member of the International team for the 2013 Presidents Cup. It was Grace’s first time with the team.
The event was played at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The United States won 18.5-15.5.
Grace didn’t record a point in 5 matches.
He also was part of the South African 2013 World Cup team. South Africa finished 6th in the event won by host Australia.
