ON THE RISE As one of the longest hitters in the world, Wilco Nienaber aims to play in the majors again and earn a US PGA Tour card. Picture: Sunshine Tour
Image: SUNSHINE TOUR
For the average golfer, there’s nothing better than hitting a driver out the middle of the club and watching the ball soar into the distance and having the chance to watch professionals smash a driver is always a sight to behold.
When a tournament is on and Wilco Nienaber is playing, though, he tends to have some of the biggest galleries, and that’s because he’s one of the longest hitters on the DP World Tour (DPWT).
This season, his average drive measures 335.65 yards, at second in the driving stats on the DPWT.
In fact, the 24-year-old’s tee shots are 24.6 yards longer than the average player on tour.
For the casual fan, it’s difficult to comprehend just how far a player like Nienaber can launch a golf ball.
Nienaber himself admits it’s difficult to explain his prodigious length off the tee.
“I don't know. I'm probably built a little differently to most,” Nienaber told SportsBoom.com.
“I just played a lot of sports. I like all sports. In South Africa, we grow up having to play in most schools, in winter and in summer sports. So, it really develops the body, I feel. It's not something that I've done something specific on. It just happened.”
The 1.87m-tall Nienaber has had some mixed form over the last couple of weeks as he missed his last two cuts in a row, including at the SA Open at the beginning of March.
In mid-February though, Nienaber won the NTT DATA Pro Am, at Fancourt Golf Estate in George.
It was his first win in four years since his maiden triumph in the same tournament, and it was in fine style as he led wire-to-wire as he romped to a seven-stroke victory in the HotelPlanner Tour event.
Asked what he needed to improve on, in his game Nienaber gave an honest answer.
“Just consistency. Getting the driver in play. I'm hitting it straight as well, so I get that in hand most of the time. Holing putts. Those two together is a great combo.”
“The game is good. Hitting the driver really nicely. I had a good week in Fancourt two, three weeks ago, putter rolled nicely. So, if I can get that to work again, it should be a good week.”
Though he is just 24, Nienaber is already in his sixth year as a professional. Despite his length, he has not been a prolific winner in the paid ranks with just two wins to his name, but that doesn’t change his lofty ambitions in the game as his ultimate goal is to play on the US PGA Tour.
“The goal is to win again. I want to get as close as possible to those PGA Tour cards. I want to play all the way through to the Race to Dubai final and just improve."
“That's where you want to play. That's where most of the best players play. If you can do well there, you know you can compete against the best.”
Related Topics: