‘Birdie King' de Jonge aims for more discipline

PHOENIX – Brendon de Jonge has been the undisputed ‘Birdie King’ on the PGA Tour for the last three years but that is a label the burly Zimbabwean would happily trade for a maiden victory on the U.S. circuit.

Friday, February 03, 2012
Brendon de Jonge of Zimbabwe watches his tee shot. Net photo.

PHOENIX – Brendon de Jonge has been the undisputed ‘Birdie King’ on the PGA Tour for the last three years but that is a label the burly Zimbabwean would happily trade for a maiden victory on the U.S. circuit.More often than he would like, de Jonge’s aggressive power game has cost him ‘soft’ bogeys and he readily accepts he needs to add a greater sense of discipline to his on-course strategy."Obviously it’s nice to know that you can make a lot of birdies but in saying that I need to be a little bit more disciplined,” de Jonge told Reuters ahead of this week’s Phoenix Open. "I know that. I need to play a few more clean rounds.Since the start of the 2009 season, no player on the PGA Tour has made more birdies than de Jonge who has totaled 1,225 in that time. Next best, 80 birdies adrift, are Americans Webb Simpson and Bo Van Pelt. Tiger Woods, who typically plays fewer events each season than most other players on the PGA Tour, has totaled 529 birdies over that period.