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MJ Daffue has enjoyed two wins and six top 10 finishes in a year where he is quietly shedding his journeyman tag
by TIM WHITFIELD
'Bu adam kim? Topu çok uzağa vuruyor!' or something to that effect, said a fellow spectator as I followed South African MJ Daffue during the final round of the recent Turkish Airlines Open at the beautiful National Golf Club in Belek, Türkiye. Seeing my blank look, the Turk translated himself: 'Who ees dat guy? He heets da ball so far!'
Daffue ended the DP World Tour tournament on three under par, a disappointing seven shots behind winner Mikael Lindberg, but he was indeed 'heeting it' a long way and very well – so effectively he ended the tournament leading the driving stats.
But the disappointment came from the greens where he was ranked a lowly 47th and, as the cliché goes, you putt for dough.
Top 25 finishes in 2026
15/02 NTT DATA Pro-Am 1st
22/03 DP World PGTI Open 1st
29/03 Hero Indian Open T3
17/05 Challenge de Catalunya T3
21/06 English Open T7
24/05 Soudal Open T8
03/05 Turkish Airlines Open T18
18/05 U.S. Open Final Qualifying T24
Daffue, however, has definitely not had a disappointing year. It has been a breakthrough season for a player who would previously probably fit into the journeyman category. Free from injury that has plagued him for the past two years, the 37-year-old has enjoyed two wins in 2026 on the HotelPlanner Tour and currently tops its Race to Mallorca standings.
His maiden win came in February at the NTT DATA Pro-Am – a co-sanctioned event between the HotelPlanner Tour and the Sunshine Tour – at Fancourt, and then a bogey-free final round a month later sealed his second title at the DP World PGTI Open in Delhi.
Since then, Daffue has had top three finshes at the Hero Indian Open a week after Delhi, and at the Challenge de Catalunya in May, followed by another two top-ten finishes in May and June respectively.
'Tee to green I was plenty good enough to win but I just could not figure out the greens'
His putting in Belek was not surprisingly a big frustration for the Houston-based South African. 'Tee to green I was plenty good enough to win but I just could not figure out the greens,' he said after the fourth round.
'Probably 15 putts could have gone one way or the other, so its unfortunate. I struggled reading the greens – and then the speed: One day it is slow and one day it's fast, it's just been a tricky week.
'I hit it good enough. The weird thing is that I felt like I hit good putts ... I hit it where I wanted. It wasn't like I pulled it or I pushed it. I hit it exactly where I looked, but I guess I just looked in the wrong spot.
'But it has been a breakthrough from what has been a difficult last two years. Obviously I struggled with injuries. I had three surgeries in two years and had stuff that was outside my control ... and then didn't play well and then lost confidence. So, you know, one thing led to the other, but I don't think much has changed.
'I mean, I kind of put the same amount of work in, the same type of work. I guess you need a little bit of fortune you know ... I won in Fancourt and that was a big week as far as really believing in the experience that I have.
'Now I feel more comfortable when I'm under the gun, and it's shown tee to green. In tough conditions I'm right there: This week I'm just two putts a round away from from being in a tie for the lead.
FLYING HIGH...
MJ Daffue in action at the Turkish Airlines Open in Belek
'Overall, it's been good, I've been feeling more and more comfortable every week and trying to win every week, and that's why it's frustrating (to be missing putts).
'I guess the biggest part is to learn from it.'
Clearly, with two wins, two top three finishes and six top tens this year, the 37-year-old is learning, and effectively combining what he learns with his experience.
Carl Fourie | Tyrone Winfield | EJ Langner | Sunshine Tour
