Dean

Burmester

Fans only really get to see a star performer at work and rarely stop to think about how their chosen profession may affect their personal lives.

“I had to weigh up my family’s well-being against my dreams,” Burmester says. "It was an easy decision to go from a 34-week schedule to a 14 to 18-week schedule.”

Some new arrivals to LIV Golf can take a little while to settle in, having to adapt to an unfamiliar schedule and a different way of thinking where results matter for you as an individual golfer and for your team.

But Burmester took this all in his stride in 2023, finishing 14th in the Individual Standings in his debut season with LIV Golf before returning to South Africa and landing back-to-back tournament wins.

In late November that year he powered to a three-stroke victory at the Joburg Open and a week later won the South African Open Championship.

That also doubled his number of DP Tour career wins to four and increased his Sunshine Tour wins to 10 as both events are co-sanctioned by the official bodies.

That momentum continued into 2024 and Burmester began season three of LIV Golf with a T3 at the opening event in Mayakoba before landing his first win at LIV Golf Miami in April.

In a tight finish he beat Sergio Garcia on the second playoff hole in what he describes as the most competitive win of his career.

“To beat one of my childhood heroes that I grew up watching was special,” he told LIV Golf analyst Su-Ann Heng.

“I distinctly remember watching Sergio jumping around the tree, midair with his legs and all the amazing things he’s achieved in his career.

“It’s super special to have that moment and for him to be gracious enough in defeat was good and it was definitely the most competitive win of my career.”

That good form earned him an invitation to the 2024 PGA Championship where he achieved his highest finish in the tournament so far with a T12.

By the end of the season Burmester had proved he is right up there with LIV’s best, securing 9th place in the individual standings.

For good measure, he returned to South Africa to play in November’s Vodacom Origins of Golf Final and secured a comfortable seven-stroke victory for his 11th event win on the Sunshine Tour.

Dean Burmester’s first European Tour win was the 2017 Tshwane Open, and it was another four years before he celebrated again, with a five-shot victory at the 2021 Tenerife Open.

Joining in those celebrations was caddie Jason Reynolds who has been Burmester’s bag man since 2019.

“It’s four years of struggle and hard work,” Burmester said after shooting a bogey-free 62 in the final round. “Jason and I have been together two years, he’s never won, it’s his first one and he deserves it, he’s been with me through thick and thin."

He was full of praise for Reynolds again after returning to South Africa last November to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final at Oubaai Golf Estate, George, by a hefty seven strokes.

“I’ve got a caddie who’s reading these greens unbelievably well,” said Burmester, after shooting a bogey-free 63 in the third-round. “I had 10 putts on the back nine. My iron play is still a little bit rusty, but the rest of my game is sharp.”

It was the second time he had won the Vodacom Origins of Golf after his first success in 2015, and it was his 11th career win on the Sunshine Tour.

Dean Burmester, 35, is part of a sporting dynasty that includes his father Mark Greville Burmester, who played international cricket for Zimbabwe, and mother Michelle, who held the women’s course record at Royal Harare Golf Club.

Golf has been a common interest through the Burmester generations.

“My mum’s parents and then my grandfather on my dad’s side and mum and dad used to play every Wednesday and Saturday,” he says.

“On a Saturday I used to get dropped off and given a caddie in Zimbabwe and you did 36 holes or go and hit balls on the range.”

In a very different sporting arena, dad Mark was a seam bowler and became the first Zimbabwean to take a wicket in Test cricket.

He was also part of the Zimbabwe one-day team who beat finalists England in a 1992 World Cup group game.

“When I got older I focused more on cricket because my dad was my hero and I wanted to be like my dad, like every boy,” Burmester says.

“Then I realized I’m probably not good enough at that so went back to golf and started practicing a bit more and winning a few tournaments and thought geez, maybe I’m good enough at this.

“It turned into this whole thing so it’s pretty cool, I was more of a late bloomer.”

Burmester and wife Melissa married in November 2014 and have a family home in Florida, where they live with their two young sons.

In South Africa, the family base is George, a coastal city in the Western Cape province, so he had plenty of support to cheer him on during November’s Origins of Golf win at the local Oubaai Golf Estate in November 2024.

Burmester set up an initiative Birdies 4 Rhinos with fellow golf pro Justin Walters, a non-profit organization that raises funds for conservation projects and to protect threatened wildlife.

“We’ve got golf professionals from all over the world involved,” Burmester says.

“For every birdie they make in tournament play they donate a certain amount of money towards the conservation and the fund.

“It’s grown to close on 30 professionals on all tours all over the world and now the Stingers are involved and LIV is involved and that’s amazing.”

Burmester’s Instagram account has regular posts showing his latest movements around the golf course, Stinger GC and updates about Birdies4Rhinos.