Jacques Kruyswijk What's In The Bag And Player Profile

South Africa’s Jacques Kruyswijk strode to an emotional maiden victory on the DP World Tour, keeping his cool throughout the final round to claim the Magical Kenya Open.

He shot a final round of 67 for an 18-under-par total, two shots better than England’s John Parry.

The 32-year-old has gone through some tough times during his professional career and there have been times when he has been on the verge of quitting the game. 

But he held off the challenge of Parry, who continued his fine form since returning to the tour - as unlikely as it seems, he will now have half an eye on securing a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team. He is now in second place in the Race to Dubai.

However, this day belonged to Kruyswijk, who finally won in his 139th start. He led at the start of the day and quickly found himself trailing playing partner Parry but he remained calm throughout and battled his way back to the top of the leaderboard. He was able to enjoy his walk down the 18th fairway with a three-shot lead, the result never in doubt.

• Player Profile
• Last 10 Events
• Key Stats
• World Ranking
• What's In The Bag

Struggling to fight back the tears, he said: "It is special. I am lost for words. This is for my family, my friends and for South Africa. It makes me very proud. The putt I holed for birdie on the 16th meant everything. It gave me a three-shot lead and gave me momentum. I am super proud of the way I played today. I am now looking forward to the South African Open, which is a huge event for me. The support has been unbelievable, the fans have been awesome."

Parry led after birdies at the fourth and fifth but Kruyswijk regained the lead with birdies of his own at the sixth and seventh and added two more at the 10th and 16th to shut the door on his rival. He was able to take an iron from the tee at the par-five 18th and see out his win with a safe par.

Player Profile

Jacques Kruyswijk was born in Pretoria on October 16, 1992.

Kruyswijk enjoyed a stellar career as an amateur and won the Royal Silver Vase in 2011.

He represented Limpopo Province between 2005 and 2012. In 2011 he was nominated as the SA IPT Player of the Year. He recorded six victories on the IGT Tour.

He turned professional in January 2013 after finishing seventh at the 2013 Sunshine Tour Q-School. He recorded his first professional victory in his rookie season in an event on the Big Easy Tour. In 2015 he received a one-shot penalty at the Vodacome Origins of Golf after whacking his ball off a tree then into his groin.

On the 2016-17 Sunshine Tour he won the Lion of Africa Cape Open in November and tied for fourth at the Joburg Open in February and finished 11th on the Order of Merit. On the 2017-18 Sunshine Tour he tied for fourth at the South African Open and once again finished 11th on the Order of Merit.

Kruyswijk joined the DP World Tour in 2017 after finishing tied second at qualifying school.

In 2020, his best results were third-place finishes at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship and Limpopo Championship.  

In 2021, Kruyswijk recorded five top-10s on the DP World Tour and finished in 116th place on the Order of Merit, retaining his card. He also recorded his second Sunshine Tour victory when he won the Sunshine Tour Invitationall held at his home club, the Centurion Country Club. He broke into the top-200 on the world ranking for the first time following this win.

This was his 139th start on the DP World Tour. It was his first victory but he had never before finished in the top three.

Last 10 Events

Magical Kenya Open - 1st

NTT Data Pro-Am - T24th

Commerical Bank Qatar Masters - CUT

Bahrain Championship - T38th

Hero Dubai Desert Classic - T21st

Mauritius Open - CUT

Vodacom Origins of Golf Final Oubaai - 3rd

Blue Label Challenge - T6th

Genesis Championship - CUT

Andalucia Masters - T7th

Key Stats

Driving Distance - 300.05 Yards

Driving Accuracy - 47.10%

Greens in Regulation - 66.67%

Sand Saves - 53.85%

Putts Per Round - 28.80

Scoring Average - 71.20

End of Year World Ranking Position

2020: 451

2021: 232

2022: 406

2023: 310

2024: 393

Current Ranking: 216th

What's In Jacques Kruyswijk's Golf Bag

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke TD (8.5 Degrees)

3-Wood: TaylorMade SIM 2 (13.5 Degrees)

Utility Iron: Callaway X Forged UT 21 (16 Degrees)

Four Iron: Srixon ZX7

Five-Nine Irons: Srixon ZXi7

Pitching Wedge: Srixon ZXi7

52-Degree Wedge: Cleveland RTX-6 Tour Rack Zipcore

56-Degree Wedge: Cleveland RTX-6 Tour Rack Zipcore

60-Degree Wedge: Cleveland RTX-6 Tour Rack Zipcore

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Ball: Srixon Z STAR X V (7)