Justin Harding says he will not be putting himself under any sort of pressure when he tees off in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Heritage Golf Resort this week and that his aim is to fix a few glitches in his game ahead of what’s looking to be a busy year for him.
Harding’s adventures, at home and abroad, have seen him earn praises across the globe in the last two years and now coming to an end of what has been a breakthrough season for him in Europe where he won his first title on that tour, the Stellenbosch Golf Club member is just trying to kick back and relax.
He won his first European Tour title at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March. He birdied three of his last four holes to post a closing 66 and secure his first European Tour title in his 54th appearance. It was his fifth worldwide win in 12 months after securing two Asian Tour victories and two Sunshine Tour triumphs in July 2018 and May 2018, respectively.
“I’m not putting myself under a huge amount of pressure. I’m out to have a bit of fun and enjoy the Mauritian lifestyle,†said Harding ahead of Thursday’s tee-off time. “I’ve got a few things that I am trying to work on, game-wise, that I’m hoping to implement next year, so I was quite happy with last week’s results. I played solid but the golf course played tough. I gave myself a chance. I had a bit of a bad finish, I played my last six or seven holes over par, which was naughty, but at the end of the day, it was a decent enough week.
“There’s nothing, really, that I need to go in-depth in to in terms of what I am working on. I guess, I kind of felt like I lost my way a little bit, halfway through the year. So, I’m just trying to reimplement a couple of things that I may have forgotten. It’s an opportunity for me to start the new year on the European Tour season with a bit of a bang and if I have another top 10, then it’s good.
“It’s been a decent enough year. If you look at it as a whole; 12 months, it’s been very, very good. It’s opened up a bunch of doors for next year, so I’m just looking forward to a good week and putting my feet up and enjoying a good Christmas at home.â€
