THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome Dean Burmester from Stinger GC. You just won an epic style in a playoff. Tell us a little bit about your day and that battle.
DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, man, that was a long day. This is a tough golf course. But I think getting paired up with Louis helped me a lot, kind of kept me calm. It didn't help he kept draining all those putts. I was doing my own thing and he made putt after putt. I thought we were going to have a good battle Stinger against Stinger and unfortunately it didn't go his way, but it was a special day, certainly one I won't forget.
Q. I don't know if you saw Sergio made that birdie right on the hole behind you and got ahead and you're coming off and just finished. In your mind were you thinking, okay, it's kind of over, or were you thinking I've got to go warm up and get ready for maybe doing a playoff?
DEAN BURMESTER: I was a little disappointed. I knew 18 was playing tough. But yeah, I was more disappointed in my first effort in regulation play for par. That wasn't my best effort, was it. I was proud of the way I knocked the next one in. I played great all day. I didn't make a bogey until that hole and hung up. I heard Sergio made a long putt. I heard a cameraman say, Do you want to know what Sergio did. I said, I don't want to know what he did. Just chipped it out.
I went to the putting green with my teammates. That was super special. That's what makes it special is Brandon and Charl and Louis are like, it's not over yet, he's hit it to 60 feet. Go make some putts. We went with my family and we went down on the putting green and I hit a couple putts and obviously he missed it and it was a little sense of calm kind of came over me, and I was ready to get business done. It was cool.
Q. Did you have any nerves stopping on to the tee box for the playoff?
DEAN BURMESTER: I was probably more nervous picking the coin. I wanted to see what he did. I picked right and knowing in match play if he hits it in the fairway I've got to hit it in the fairway. I generally get nervous. I was still nervous. But for me that was about as calm as I'm ever going to get.
Q. I noticed watching on TV today that you had a lot of patience out here this week. Do you think that was a contributing factor in your win?
DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, I think it's that kind of golf course. It's just a really, really tough beat you up kind of golf course. If you hit bad shots you're going to make bogeys at best. Yeah, that was kind of my mantra was just give myself as many birdie putts as I can and make pars and if a couple go in that's great because nobody is going to shoot 59 around here. This is a monster of a place and it's hosted so many great championships over the year and now it's hosting us and I feel privileged to have won here.
Q. How does this win differ from previous wins?
DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, it's special because coming over, obviously I was coming over to three friends and I was excited about that, but I also wanted to prove myself against a lot of the best players in the world, a lot of major champions. Now that I've done that a year and a half in, I'm super stoked and proud of myself and now we're going to try to do it again.
Q. How special is it having the team component that when you win you have a team of guys rooting you on, congratulating you?
DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, definitely. Afterwards when I had that four-footer I wasn't even nervous because we play enough money games in matches to know that I've got to make those four-footers. I just stood over there and I said it's like any other Tuesday and knocked it right in the middle. When they came with the champagne it was pretty special. Louis got me right in the face which I think was his goal. It's special to have three great friends like that on the green and my family and my kids and their families and the whole Stinger crew was here this week. It's super special to win when everyone is here.
Q. This is your third win since late November but you're not in the field next week. What do you think?
DEAN BURMESTER: I mean, I want to be in the field, obviously. I feel like I've played some really great golf over the last five, six months. The two wins back home in South Africa before Christmas were special, two tournaments I've wanted to win for a long time, and to win the South African Open, which is the second oldest tournament in the world, is a privilege. I thought I held myself really well there, and to come here on a golf course like this that's major worthy and to beat major champions, I'm happy to have done that.
Do I want to be at Augusta? Yeah, I've never been there before, so yeah, I want to be there.
Q. Given your form, would you like your chances next week?
DEAN BURMESTER: Charl will be there, so he'd have to coach me around there. I've heard you've got to go around there a few times, but if I get a call, that'll be fantastic. If I don't, then I'll enjoy watching Charl on the couch.
Q. In terms of finally breaking through here, I know we talked at Mayakoba and you were pretty disappointed that you didn't get the win there, didn't get in a playoff. What does it mean? Where is your confidence factor right now? Where is your game at? Is this the best you've ever played?
DEAN BURMESTER: I mean, it's certainly probably the best golf of my career. If I look at it that way, the amount of wins, the amount of top 10s, top 5s that I'm producing is some really special stuff.
I owe it to my team. Everyone works super hard. Mayakoba, I felt like I did everything right but it wasn't my day, and today I felt like I did everything right again and bogeyed the last. I thought, damn, it's not my day again, and Sergio did me a little favor and it ended up being my day.
That's just the rub of the rough and the smooth of the green, I guess.
Q. Can you talk about all the people here? Were they mostly friends, family?
DEAN BURMESTER: I'd never met them before. Yesterday was the first day I met any of them. They all work on the yachts and they're here for a conference and a whole bunch of stuff. South Africans get around. They move all over. They're massive golf fans. They came out yesterday and screamed for me pretty much the whole day and the other guys. I had stories from the other guys last night. I offered them tickets, and I shot the one guy Ross a message on Instagram, and yeah, he said, yeah, I'm definitely coming even if I've got to get off from my captain, but if I'm not coming the other guys are definitely coming.
It's special to have them all here again today, and to do that at the end and to have them singing Ole-Ole-Ole. I know it's a European Ryder Cup song, but from South Africa they were singing "Shosholoza" which are really big sports songs, and Ole-Ole is a massive sports song for us. It's super special to do that for my country and for the Stinger GC and the Springbok logo that we have, and to kind of unite that sport in South Africa is something special, and you can see from all the people here today, they love it. They love us competing and doing well, and yeah, I'm just super proud to have done it in front of them and in front of my friends and family.
Q. Is there anything you want to say to friends back in South Africa at home and the fans back there watching you take home this W?
DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, there are a few things. Obviously hi, South Africa. I haven't seen you for a little while. I can't wait to get back.
But there's a little saying that's been going around, Dricus du Plessis, from the MMA, Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie, which means they don't know what they know. But nou weet ons weet, which means now they know what we know. I'm super proud that everyone was shouting that on the golf course. South Africa and the Springboks and everybody back home, all my friends and family, can't wait to see you and all celebrate.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports