AFRICA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

February 3, 2026

Daniel Bennett

Quick Quotes

Q. Daniel, how does it feel to be here at Royal Johannesburg and how are you preparing?

DANIEL BENNETT: Yeah, it's great to be home. Always nice coming back to South Africa. Yeah, I can't wait for the week to get started. We've played out here a bunch, so hopefully I have a good week.

Q. And is this your second time playing in the amateur?

DANIEL BENNETT: It is, yeah.

Q. How can you reflect on the last year and coming here again?

DANIEL BENNETT: I played two years ago at Leopard Creek so obviously different golf course, different setup, but, yeah, super excited. Always nice to play in this event.

And obviously big prize at the end the week. That's the goal, yeah.

Q. Going into the championship as the top-ranked player here, how do you mentally prepare for that and is it something that give you confidence?

DANIEL BENNETT: Yeah, obviously it's nice coming in knowing that you're one of the higher ranked players. I don't think it's a big deal to be honest. Kind of just got to come in, get the job done, and do what you're supposed to do. That kind of is all I'm focused on, and take every day as it comes, yeah.

Q. You've been playing a lot in America lately. How has that been for you?

DANIEL BENNETT: Yeah, awesome. I'm at a great school. We play a ton of great golf courses, ton of great tournaments, and, yeah, super privileged to be where I'm at. Yeah, I can't wait for the next couple years in the States and keep improving every year, yeah.

Q. How important is it to have this tournament, getting players from all over the continent to come together and play elite amateur golf and have such a great prize at the end, getting to The Open for the winner?

DANIEL BENNETT: Yeah, obviously it's something different. You don't really see every country from Africa come together, and I think it's good to kind of bring the lower-developed countries into a tournament like this and see some talent from those other places.

They also get the opportunity to play a really good golf course and really good tournament against great players from South Africa. Yeah, it's just cool to be involved in a tournament like this.

Q. And what would it mean to you to win, get to The Open?

DANIEL BENNETT: Yeah, obviously that's the main goal here, and, yeah, it'll be great. It's something I've dreamed of doing, so, yeah, I can't wait for the week to get started.