I Regained My Mental Edge – Botha

Jay-Jay Botha said he regained his mental edge with his resounding 11-shot triumph in the Arizona Deaf Golfers Association Open at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona on Friday.
 
Botha underlined the value he’ll bring to South Africa’s Deaflympics side with a superb 36-hole performance. He opened the event with a round of 74 to hold a slender one-stroke advantage over Dorem Granberry and Jose Sermeno respectively.
 
Botha put on nothing short of a masterclass in the final round. After a relatively slow start, a birdie at the 10th galvanised him as he signed for a 71 which was the low round of the day by 10 shots.
 
The key to Botha’s success was a single-minded focus on his own game and not those of his competitors, a lesson he leant during the Canon Open Series Champion of Champions event last year.
 
“”I just played against myself and the course rather than against my competitors,” said Botha.
 
“The biggest strength of my game was my mentality. Last year at Zwartkop I lost my mental edge but I regained it in Arizona.”
 
Besides the whopping victory, another feather in Botha’s cap is the fact that with a total of 145 he eclipsed his previous best 36-hole total – shot at the 2017 Worcester Open – by two shots.
 
The experience in Arizona will stand Botha in good stead as he looks ahead to the Deaflympics taking place in Brazil during May.
 
“I’m glad to have played Wigwam’s Bue Course in the second round. It’s of a similar length to the course we’ll play at the Deaflympics so I’ve got a good idea of where my strengths and weaknesses lie,” Botha concluded.