This comes as the 20-year-old earned his second European Tour top-10 finish in the space of a month with his tie for sixth at the iconic and tricky Valderrama during the Andalucia Masters over the weekend.

Nienaber’s performance saw him jumping 64 places in the world rankings to 292nd. On top of that, Nienaber, who plays out of the Bloemfontein Golf Club, bagged just shy of R750 000 in earnings.

Nienaber told OFM Sport that he hopes for another good week, this time at the Portugal Masters.

“I did find Valderrama to be very pretty and beautiful, but it was really very tough.

“As everyone can see, the scoring was tough, but I am happy with my finish. You would like to win, but another top ten is not too bad.

“Regarding the Portugal Masters, I have not played this course yet, but a lot of people have told me that it will suit me really well.

“I’ve taking the day off today, and tomorrow I will take a first look at the course.

“I would just like to have another good week. My game is feeling really good at the moment, so I will see what this week brings.”

The Portugal Masters at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course tees off on Thursday.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport