Continuing his special column Golf NewsDP World Tour player DAN BRADBURY reports on his impressive start to his 2026 campaign, which began with a runner-up finish at the Nedbank Challenge major in South Africa in December, followed by a strong performance at the Desert Swing, before returning to the winner’s circle with a thrilling victory at the Joburg Club Open at Johannesburg 20 in his first Golf20 at Houghton.
“It’s amazing that I was able to start my first column of the year and I’m talking about winning, but here we are. I wouldn’t say it was overdue or expected, with nine holes left in the Joburg Open I don’t think even my biggest fans were hoping for anything more than a top-three finish, but it shows that you need to close everything as you might be participating in the tournament. on the line.
I was in the last group on the course on Sunday, playing home favorite Henni du Plessis, who scored two goals over me and Alex Fitzpatrick. Henni has been playing well all week and hasn’t bogeyed something like 22 holes through the back nine and looks set to win comfortably. He was a bit behind me in the turns and I was trying hard to hold on and hope that a strong finish would keep me somewhere at the top end of the leaderboard.
But pressure has a tendency to do funny things to you, and with Henni looking for his first win at this level, he dropped shots on 12 and 15, while I made birdies on 10, 11 and 14, and suddenly the door was open for me and the chasing pack.
Jarvis Casey, who would win for the third time in as many weeks, and Brandon Robinson-Thompson were also in the mix, but both dropped shots late and I found myself on the 18th tee needing a win. It’s what you dream of – having a tournament in your hands.
I hit a decent drive, and left myself around 160 yards in, but the wind was blowing and I probably misjudged my approach and it rolled into the rough behind the green about 20 feet from the pin. I’m a confident shooter, but I surprised myself at how committed I was to the shot under that pressure and I was happy when it popped up, I jumped forward and out of tap range.
After winning this event in 2022, which was also held in Houghton, I obviously came to this tournament with good memories and good vibes, but that was four years ago, so you can’t just hang on to the past too much. I’m not sure why this course seems to bring out the best in me, but it is similar to Wakefield Golf Club, where I grew up playing. It’s tough, tree lined and you have to drive it right. I did that and put it very well, so everything fell into place.
HANDBOOK ISSUE, APPROX
Obviously it feels good to win at the start of the season, and to support the form I’ve been showing over the last few weeks, even though the points haven’t always shown it. Before the Joburg Open I had good results, finishing second in the NedBank Challenge, and in South Africa, back in December the season started strongly.
That result – second prize money was over €400,000 – secured my 2027 card at once and gave me the kind of momentum every player dreams of going into 2026. I never thought that I try to keep my card every year, but knowing that care allows you to play with the handbrake, play a role for me, win.
After ditching the clubs over Christmas and New Years, I headed to Dubai in early January a few days before the Invitational and Desert Classic and stuck to a good practice to shake off the rust. I won two events in Dubai, then missed the one in Bahrain by a few shots, but I didn’t feel like I played that bad.
Then I had a great week in Qatar, shooting four rounds in the 60s to finish fifth. That result felt very satisfying because in Bahrain I had missed two routes, which I had not seen for a long time. I don’t really like to be too professional about my swing – I haven’t even taken a video for a few months – but after Bahrain I felt like I had to check what was happening on camera, and sure enough, I noticed a few bad habits. I collected the Qataris and my game felt really strong all week.
The funny thing is, in the first round in Qatar I had three putts and still shot two under. It didn’t sound like anything special at the time, but after taking a closer look, I realized that hitting the ball must have been really powerful. That gave me a good chance to go for the rest of the week. I didn’t get the finish I wanted – I played 17 after taking a birdie putt and trying to push to win, but I ended up missing one back. I’d rather chase a win than tiptoe to the top, so I don’t regret trying to push and be optimistic, even if it costs me a place or two.
SMELLING ROSES… AND ROSÉ
After Qatar I flew home for a week, then headed to Kenya where things went wrong. I missed the cut by two shots, which wasn’t good, but again, I don’t feel like I did too bad. From there we headed down to Cape Town for the South African Open in Stellenbosch.
My girlfriend, Brogan, has been with me this whole year, which has made life on the road a lot easier. It’s so easy when you’re alone to get caught up in the schedule of hotel rooms and Netflix, but having someone with you gives you a reason to get out and take time to enjoy some of the amazing places we have to visit. We visited a few wineries and a nature reserve near Stellenbosch, ate at nice restaurants, and enjoyed sightseeing.
We even visited Ernie Els’ vineyard, which has great wines and unreal views. I’ve never actually played with Ernie, but I’ve stood next to him on the range. Even at his age, he is formidable. The tempo, the distance, the way he jumps effortlessly – it’s something else. He is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.
Sadly, I didn’t play well in Stellenbosch and missed the cut by one goal, so we had more time to enjoy the local attractions before heading to Johannesburg, where everything went well for me.
DRIVING THE DOUGH
Looking at my performance statistics so far this season, I’ve had a good start. My driving range is high – from an average of less than 300 yards to upwards of 310. During my six-week stretch, I pushed myself hard in the gym and it seems to have paid off. It didn’t add raw speed, but it gave me more stability at high speeds. For the first time, I feel like I’ve been able to bring ‘range swing’ and ‘course swing’ together. At Nedbank in December, I drove the ball as well as I have ever driven it. That was done this year. I gained distance without losing accuracy, which is a perfect combination.
My greens in control stats are better too, although I don’t really look at GIR itself – ‘Strokes’ is more descriptive. But even so, if you’re around 10-15 yards across the fairway, you’re going to hit more greens. There has been an improvement in my playingclose
Mechanically, nothing has changed this year. Ping released his new 259 wedges just before Nedbank, so I had bagged them that week and stuck with them. I switched to a new E-grind lob wedge recently, but minor adjustments, nothing spectacular. Some players change the grind depending on the course, but honestly, 80 or 90 percent of the guys don’t bother. Maybe for something like the Open if the turf is firmer, but week in and week out, the same setup works for me.
UNCERTAIN TIMES
Looking ahead, the program gets interesting with Asian Swing. Right now, the plan is to play the first two events in India and China, but obviously with everything going on with the conflicts in the Middle East at the moment, who knows how travel will be affected. The tour hasn’t said anything yet, so we have to assume that everything will continue, but it’s impossible to predict right now.
After those two events, I will take four weeks off in April because I have been non-stop since mid-January. Nine events in 11 weeks is a lot. I might head to Portugal for a golf trip with some mates, refit, then head back to Turkey at the end of April and then back to Barcelona for the Catalunya Championship in the second week of May as we move into the Europe-based part of the programme.
Other than that, the goals are pretty straightforward – get myself into contention more often, get another win, and look to push for one of the top ten PGA Tour cards available at the end of the season. The game is trending right. If I keep doing the right things, hopefully I’ll give myself every opportunity.”
