Singapore: Jbe Kruger will be the first to advocate that size doesn’t matter in professional golf.

At a mere 1.66m in height and a lightweight 60kg, he is one of the smallest men on the Asian Tour. But the 25-year-old South African certainly stands tall amongst the giants of Asian golf.

While it is early days yet in the 2012 season, Kruger, who is competing in the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic which starts on Thursday, is enjoying the view from the top of the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit courtesy of his breakthrough victory at the Avantha Masters in India in February.

He knows the road to fame is still a long one but he’s determined to enjoy the ride.
“I can’t really say I’m on top of the world right now. Leading the Order of Merit is an honour. To be able to sit on the same table with great names like Jeev (Singh) it’s an honour,” said the softly-spoken Kruger.

At first glance, Kruger probably looks more like a welterweight wrestler but when he wields the big stick, he packs a good wallop. He averages 300 yards off the tee, enough distance to keep up with the long hitters in the game such as Australia’s Scott Hend, who has won the Driving Distance category for the past few years.

Kruger said his father, who is a keen marathon runner, is his biggest inspiration. Similar in built, Kruger said his father trained and pushed his body to the limits to make up for his lack of physique.

“My father is a keen sportsman. He plays every sport and he’s good in everything. Being a kid, seeing him so competitive definitely gave me the edge and I wanted to be competitive in the things that I do. From an early age, I saw the only thing that made him competitive was through hard work. He was the hardest worker I’ve seen in my whole life. That was why I work the way I do,” said Kruger.

He said his power in golf comes from strong legs and arms plus his hips. As a youngster, Kruger would run up small hills with a tractor wheel in tow to build up his power and strength.

“I’m small but I think I’m strong. It definitely comes from my hips. It’s a part that’s strong and I’ve got strong hands. It helps. I work out a lot. Growing up with a father than runs every day of his life, I also ran competitively until I was 16 or 17.

“If you do that, you also have to do uphill runs. I saw him doing that. It’s not just running long distances. Running uphill and dragging something at the back definitely makes you stronger. That’s what I did.

“I used to drag along a tractor tire up a gravel road. It was like some 500 yards uphill but we would go up and down, up and down, up and down. It’s never easy. I don’t do it at the moment but I should start doing it again! That made me a lot stronger than what I would have been,” said Kruger.

After joining the Asian Tour in 2009, Kruger made an impact but became known as the nearly man. He finished second on three occasions in 2010 and was in the top-10 six times in 2011 to finish fourth on the Order of Merit.

The win in India came a relief and vindication of his hard work.

“The Avantha win gave me confidence. All of you guys know I had finished second all the time. It’s made me more confident and made me a better golfer mentally. To try to win and reach something and not getting there drains you and it takes a lot out of you. But to finally get it, it makes everything worthwhile and makes you believe that everything works out for the best,” said Kruger.

“God has got a bigger plan. But all the seconds definitely prepared me to win and to appreciate the win better. I think it definitely made me a better golfer. You desperately want it but I can’t really say it. If it came early in my career, it may not have been as satisfying as after finishing second so many times.”

His triumph in India gave him an exemption into the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship in the United States, a gathering of the best players in the world last month. With countrymen Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who are a few years older than him, having won Majors recently, Kruger believes he can also attain the holy grail in golf.

“Doral was an eye opener. It was a phenomenal experience, to play with the best in the world. To compete with them, standing on the same putting greens definitely makes you feel worthy which is a main thing as a golfer,” he said.

“I’m a few years younger than Charl and Louis. It makes you believe that you can also do it. They came from the same country, same juniors, same amateur circuit. Seeing what they did definitely makes you believe you can do it. Being friends with them, you know their swings and capabilities and definitely makes me believe that I can also do it.

“I want to play in America in the next four or five years. Next couple of years, I see myself playing in Europe and will try to finish as high as I can on the Order of Merit. I also want to win the Order of Merit on the Asian Tour,” he said.

He was a keen observer during the Cadillac Championship, watching players go through the motion. And he reckons he now knows the secret to their success.

“Short game is the big difference. Those guys are extremely good. They swing the club well. I don’t think many people in the world can hit the ball better than me. But their short game is tremendous. If they miss a green, they’ll make par nine out of 10 times. That’s the difference. They don’t make simple or stupid mistakes which cost me a lot of money every year. I think that’s the big thing,” he said.

Kruger said his journey on the Asian Tour has certainly shaped his career.

“It gave me experience especially the first couple of years. I was alone and it shaped me into a stronger person. Everybody desperately needs experience and that’s why I’m a better golfer now. Different weather, different grasses, different greens make you a more complete player. You can’t have the skill set like this if you go straight to Europe or America. You need to learn everything there needs to learn in Asia and that’s what make it so special,” said Kruger.