Allen John opened up about the different adjustments he has to make compared to his fellow professionals after a strong performance at the 2026 Joburg Open.
The German is profoundly deaf and has had to rely on hearing aids since he was two years old. This week is only his tenth start on the DP World Tour and he produced one of his best finishes with a share of 18th at Houghton Golf Club.
Weather conditions can make it even more difficult for the 38-year-old, but he certainly did not let it affect his performance as he carded rounds of 70-68-67-68 for a seven-under-par total.
It was an especially long week for John, who had to come through a pre-qualifier tournament just to make the field in South Africa.
"Most of my game is based on feel," John said. "So even on contact, I don’t do feedback through the audio especially when it’s windy like today, the hearing aid is like a microphone so I always have to adjust myself.
"Overall, I think I’ve found a really good way of managing with the feel and to not be reliant on the hearing too much.
"One of the biggest differences between me and the other players is that I rely on my feel completely."
Speaking after his flawless third round of 67, John added: "I'm actually really proud, it's been a long week especially with the pre-qualifier on Tuesday and practice round on Monday.
"With the weather it is always very tiring and you have to manage your energy really well.
"So I was fortunate enough to be finished on Friday and I think I was very safe at two under with the cut, so I had a really relaxed evening. Today was a bit of a grind, but overall, really, really happy.
"Five pre-qualifiers in a row and just missing out (on the cut), being very close and I had to fight through and keep grinding, and it's very easy to keep telling yourself positive things, but if the results are not showing it's really tiring. I'm very happy to be in the weekend this week."
During the pre-qualifier for the Joburg Open, Allen hit his first ever hole-in-one and finished T1 to get a chance to tee it up this week.
"It was my first hole-in-one ever, after over 20 years plus as a golfer and I’ve never made a hole-in-one," he said.
"It was an 188-yard shot, perfect six-iron, past the flag and spun back - done!"
