Hugo is a man with a mission

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October 12, 2010

Jean Hugo is looking to become only the 3rd player to win three titles in a season on the Vodacom Origins Tour.

Jean Hugo this week is looking to become only the 3rd player to win three titles in a season on the Vodacom Business Origins of Golf Tour
This when he tees it up as one of the favourites to win the Tour’s final event at the Oubaai Golf Club in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
The 2010 series, dubbed “Origins Goes Easy” as it was celebrating the career of Ernie Els, comes to a close on the fairways of this Els-designed course in Herold’s Bay this Friday
The 54-hole tournament begins on Wednesday, with Els announcing last week that he would not be able to make a much-anticipated appearance in the final.
But the field still makes for a thrilling climax as Hugo seeks to claim his place in the history of a series where he has always performed well, particularly this year with his two victories leading up to the final.
A third victory on the series this year would place him alongside Thomas Aiken and Brandon Pieters as the only players to have achieved the hat-trick since the inaugural series in 2004.
Aiken was the first to do it in 2004, followed by Pieters in 2009.
“I was thinking about it the other day and I’ve always done well on this series, either winning or finishing runner-up or in the top five,” Hugo said on Tuesday.
“I think it’s because the courses we play on in this series are top quality and tend to suit my game.”
However Oubaai remains somewhat of an unknown quantity for Hugo.
“It’s my first time playing the course. I’ve walked it a bit and seen a few of the holes, and it looks good. I’d like a bit of wind this week though. But I think for most of the pros, it’s a bit of a new course for them because it’s quite exclusive so I don’t think everybody has played it yet.”
While Hugo has dominated this series this year, his biggest rival Jaco van Zyl has dominated the traditional winter portion of the Sunshine Tour.
Van Zyl comes into this final with four wins on the Tour this year, one of which came on the Vodacom Origins Goes Easy series.
And Hugo says he would relish a head-to-head showdown with Van Zyl this week.
“I think it would be great. Jaco has been brilliant this year, but I’ve also played well and I’d enjoy going head-to-head with him.
“But this early on in the week, all I’m thinking about is setting myself up to be in a good position on the final day.”