The Big Occasion Has Been Brandon’s Stepping Stone to Success

For the majority of most professional golfers on tour, the big occasion has the potential to send the weaker characters into meltdown.

Not everyone handles the pressure the same and going out on a Sunday in the final group certainly isn’t for everyone given there is no place to hide as the cameras follow your every step. For Brandon Stone, though, it is the complete opposite as the 25-year-old insists he wants to be put in front of the cameras.

Stone wasn’t holding back when asked about whether or not he felt daunted when playing in the big events. “I really thrive when the cameras are on me and I’m in contention, that’s when I play my best golf." That was what the Johannesburg-born Stone had to say on the matter and it's evident he has an unwavering faith in his own abilities. If you were to look back on Stone’s career highlights and victories, it would back up what he is saying as it turns out he is a man for the big occasion and is anything but a shrinking violet.

It was to be in January 2016 that Stone would win his first European Tour event when he won the South African Open. Winning a European Tour event is hard enough, but winning your national open is about as challenging as it gets. It was a monumental win that proved Stone could mix it with the best and since then the 25-year-old has gone on to earn himself a rather large fortune.

To date, Stone has collected over £2.5m which works out to be over 46 million in his home currency and that has set the youngster up for life, it is now about winning events with the financial strain of tour life having been taken away. Another example of how Stone, who has affectionately been nicknamed ‘Pebbles’ since his childhood, enjoys the big occasion came in July this year when he won the Scottish Open at Gullane Golf Club on the east coast of Scotland.

The Scottish Open had been classified as a Rolex Series event which meant Stone shot up the Race to Dubai rankings and now finds himself in 18th position. Stone was hoping his achievements would be enough to see him qualify for the World Cup of Golf to be played in late November. That wasn't to be the case sadly and instead, it will be Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen who represent South Africa and at golf odds of 10/1, it looks like the men from the rainbow nation will be legitimate challengers for the trophy despite not having the young and impressive Stone playing for them. 

All in all, it has been a tremendous few years for Stone and at just 25, the world right now is truly his oyster.

As long as there is a camera within touching distance, Stone, by his own admission, is likely to thrill and pull off the seemingly impossible. There is no greater stage than that of a major stage and given Stone’s recent comments about what makes him tick, golf fans could be forgiven for thinking he could actually go on and win one.

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