Springboard: Rising star Branden Grace using Macao Open as a stepping stone to the top
South African is hoping victory in October can help him in his quest to break into the top five of the world rankings
World number 13 Branden Grace is viewing October’s US$1.1 million Venetian Macao Open as a step on the path towards the very top echelons of the game.
If I keep playing the way I am I’m going to get in the top-10 and even the top-five. It’s about trying to be consistent, to stay there
The 28-year-old acknowledged there was still work to be done on his game when confirming he was the marquee signing for the Macau event on Wednesday.
Reigning Asian Tour number one Anirban Lahiri of India will also return, having won the title in 2014.
South African Grace has over the past 12 months shown he can mix it with golf’s big guns, backed up by four top-10 finishes in the past seven majors, a breakthrough title on the US PGA Tour and a seventh victory on the European Tour.
“It’s a work in progress,” said Grace. “Obviously I feel I am getting closer. I had my first top five in a major last year [at the US Open] and you sit back and think ‘Is it going to happen again?’ But then you get in that position again and you really feel what it takes to be at the top.
“If I keep playing the way I am I’m going to get in the top 10 and even the top five. It’s about trying to be consistent, to stay there. But it’s all relatively new to me and so I am learning.”
Grace finished fourth behind American Jimmy Walker at last month’s PGA Championship at the Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, and kick-started his debut season on the PGA Tour with a two-stroke win over Luke Donald and Russell Knox at the RBC Heritage in April.
