One of the longest hitters in professional golf is teeing it up in Palm Springs this week.
No, not Bryson DeChambeau. Not Wilco Nienaber, either. Rather, Nienaber’s fellow South African, James Hart du Preez, who at nearly 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds is a slightly leaner Jon Thompson – with Kyle Berkshire’s swing speed.
Hart du Preez, the 26-year-old Pretoria native who will make his PGA Tour debut at The American Express on a sponsor invitation, can swing the driver more than 140 mph and last season led the Sunshine Tour in driving distance at an average clip of 373.