MJ Daffue returns to roots: PGA star seeks ‘pure joy’ at Killarney after injury nightmare

Golfer MJ Daffue is back is South Africa on a pilgrimage to rediscover the “pure joy and excitement of playing the game” after a punishing two-year battle with injury and burnout in the US, where he has spent most of his career playing on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.

Daffue is teeing it up in this week’s Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player at Killarney Country Club.

The Johannesburg fairways offer a stark contrast to the pressure of the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours for the former star of the US collegiate circuit who famously led the 2022 US Open at The Country Club in the second round, before falling off the pace on his Major debut. 

“The Sunshine Tour creates such great opportunities. They just do things differently. It’s a different feel here and I love that. It’s really focused on the golfer and golf and providing what I’m looking for at the moment, which is that pure joy and excitement of playing the game,” he said.

Since 2023, Daffue’s career was stalled by a recurring nightmare in his right hand. A bone disease required surgery in 2023, while a subsequent infection led to three further operations the next year.

“Struggling with the injuries has been a mental challenge for me. I’d also played a lot of golf before that and was a little burned out. I wasn’t enjoying the game and the traveling. It was just becoming a job and I had no enjoyment," he said. 

"But I’ve made some changes to get things back on track. I’m healthy and playing really good golf at the moment. So this seemed like a great opportunity to come to South Africa and find my game and get the love of the game back. I don’t take anything for granted. Competition is competition. I just want to compete and have fun again.”

Daffue has turned his homecoming into a family affair. With his 5-year-old son visiting South Africa for the first time, the 37-year-old is using a run of local events – including upcoming co-sanctioned tournaments with Europe’s HotelPlanner Tour (DP World Tour’s feeder) – to reset before returning to the US in April.

Competing in an event named after Gary Player adds a final layer of poignancy to his return. Daffue still recalls a defining moment as an 11-year-old when the “Black Knight” handed him a signed golf ball, inspiring him to become a global ambassador. 

Daffue is now back where it all began, with a renewed focus.

“I still visualise myself winning Majors, but I’m working hard on staying in the present and just being the golfer that I’m satisfied with,” he said.

The Cell C Challenge is the first event of the year on the Sunshine Tour calendar.