By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

Brendon de Jonge took home Sportsperson of the Year and Sportsman of the Year honors in his native Zimbabwe Thursday night.

The 32-year-old native of Harare who now lives in Charlotte, N.C., edged out swimmer Kirsty Coventry and distance runner Cutbert Nyasango, among others, for the awards.

De Jonge enjoyed his best season on the PGA TOUR this year, finishing 41st in the FedExCup standings and earning more than $2 million after four top 10s, including a runner-up at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, where he also shot his career-best score, a 62 in the opening round.

He also tied for fourth at The McGladrey Classic and the CIMB Classic and climbed to 81st in the Official World Golf Ranking.

De Jonge is the latest golfer from the small African nation to find success on TOUR with Hall-of-Famer Nick Price being its most prominent, along with Mark McNulty and Tony Johnstone.

To preview the 2013 PGA TOUR season, PGATOUR.COM is counting down the Top 100 Players to Watch in 2013. For an archive page with the top 100 players and for an explanation on how the list was compiled, click here .

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MORE TOP 100: Back to No. 70 | Forward to No. 68 | Top 100 archive

2013 PREVIEW: Another solid season for Brendon de Jonge lacked only the career-defining victory for the big man from Zimbabwe. He made a big jump from 65th to eighth in GIR, though, and continued improvement in his final-round scoring average (which went from 135th to 82nd) could get him over the hump.

2012 DEFINING MOMENT: De Jonge's fall campaign was particularly productive with three straight top-four finishes (including at the unofficial CIMB Classic). Included in that run was a career-best solo second at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open where de Jonge opened with a 62. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: Here’s the birdie machine. His 425 birdies led the TOUR in 2012. De Jonge is plenty good enough to win but his final round scoring average needs to improve (he ranks 82nd on TOUR). Once de Jonge becomes a little more comfortable in the final group, he will start winning. -- Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: Workhorse. Made 27 cuts in 2012 to hit 73 over a three-year period. What's downright energizing is that he's crossed into his prime at 32 years of age. Led the PGA TOUR in total birdies and par-5 performance, both products of logging an incredible 115 rounds. Yet, because he's winless, he didn't eclipse $2 million until his final start. Picked up a career-best solo second at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, and then chased it with T4s at The McGladrey Classic and unofficial CIMB Classic. -- Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert

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2012 QUICK REVIEW

Regular Season ranking 41st

Final Playoffs ranking 57th

Best finishes

2nd

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

By the Numbers Starts: 31 Cuts made: 27 Rounds played: 115 Top-10 finishes: 4 Money List rank: 39th

TOUR ranking Driving distance: 105th Driving accuracy: 59th Greens in regulation: 8th Strokes gained-putting: 64th Scoring average: 26th

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NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN

What is your prediction for Brendon de Jonge in 2013? Fill out the form below and let us know

Jonas Blixt (1)

- Would earn his first career PGA TOUR victory at the age of 28 years, 5 months and 14 days in his 18th career start on TOUR.

- Extends exempt status through 2014.

- Earns a spot into the following 2013 PGA TOUR events: Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Humana Challenge, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, PLAYERS Championship, Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National and PGA Championship.

- Increases the chance of finishing inside the top-30 on the money list, worthy of an invite to the 2013 Masters.
- Moves up in Official World Golf Ranking Points, getting closer to entry into the exclusive World Golf Championships events (The Accenture Match-Play Championship invites the top 64 available players in the OWGR two weeks prior; the Cadillac Championship invites the top 50 and the Bridgestone Invitational invites event winners with OWGR on the strength of field rating of 115 points or higher).

- Becomes the third PGA TOUR rookie to win in 2012, joining John Huh and Ted Potter Jr. 

Brendon de Jonge (1)

- Earns his first career PGA TOUR victory at the age of 32 years, 2 months and 19 days in his 146th career start on TOUR.

- Extends exempt status through 2014.

- Earns a spot into the following 2013 PGA TOUR events: Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Humana Challenge, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, PLAYERS Championship, Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National and PGA Championship.

- Increases the chance of finishing inside the top-30 on the money list, worthy of an invite to the 2013 Masters.
Moves up in Official World Golf Ranking Points, getting closer to entry into the exclusive World Golf Championships events (The Accenture Match-Play Championship invites the top 64 available players in the OWGR two weeks prior; the Cadillac Championship invites the top 50 and the Bridgestone Invitational invites event winners with OWGR on the strength of field rating of 115 points or higher).
·         Becomes the eighth international-born player to win on the PGA TOUR this year, and first from Zimbabwe since Nick Price won the 2002 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

- Becomes the seventh international-born player to win the Justin Timblerlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and third in the last four years (Kevin Na/2011, Martin Laird/209).

Ryan Moore (2)

- Earns his second career PGA TOUR victory at the age of 29 years, 10 months and 2 days in his 188th career start on TOUR.

- Extends exempt status through 2014.

- Earns a spot into the following 2013 PGA TOUR events: Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Humana Challenge, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, PLAYERS Championship, Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National and PGA Championship.

- Increases the chance of finishing inside the top-30 on the money list, worthy of an invite to the 2013 Masters.
Moves up in Official World Golf Ranking Points, getting closer to entry into the exclusive World Golf Championships events (The Accenture Match-Play Championship invites the top 64 available players in the OWGR two weeks prior; the Cadillac Championship invites the top 50 and the Bridgestone Invitational invites event winners with OWGR on the strength of field rating of 115 points or higher).

- Becomes the 13th player to win in his 20s in 2012 (There were 16 in 2010 and 2011).

Ryan Moore has birdied three of his last four holes at TPC Summerlin but can’t get any separation from Jonas Blixt and Brendon de Jonge, who are closest in pursuit. Moore, who just made a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-5 15th, leads his two playing competitors by one shot. De Jonge and blixt are 18 under and four clear of Jimmy Walker and Tim Herron, who are tied for fourth. De Jonge is riding a wave of three consecutive birdies as he bounces back from a four-hole stretch he played in 2 over. Blixt, who had three bogeys in his first 10 holes Saturday, has circled the last five numbers on his scorecard. The final trio has combined for 19 birdies on their first 16 holes Saturday. Moore is the only member of the group to keep a bogey-free card to this point and that has him on top by the slimmest of margins.

First-round leader Ryan Moore is back in the picture at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, tied for the lead at 16 under with Brendon de Jonge in the third round at TPC Summerlin.

Moore is 3 under for his round, while de Jonge gave back a shot with a bogey at the par-4 10th hole to fall back to 2 under on the day. Jonas Blixt is two shots back at 14 under.

The round of the day so far belongs to Jason Day, who shot 64. He made a double bogey on his second hole but then rattled off 10 birdies in a 13-hole span from the fourth hole through the 16th to get to 12 under, which is currently good for a tie for fifth.

The leaders are on the back nine in the third round at TPC Summerlin, and the top three are putting some space between themselves and the field.

Brendon de Jonge continues to lead at 17 under after a 3 under effort on the front nine, two shots ahead of Ryan Moore. Jonas Blixt is only even par for his third round after a pair of 64s in the first two rounds, and is three shots off de Jonge’s pace.

After that, there’s two more shots back to Tim Herron, Colt Knost and Josh Teater at 12 under. Knost and Teater are 5 under for their third rounds, but five back of the lead.

Ryan Moore wasn’t the only player to go low at the birdie-friendly Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Brendon de Jonge matched his career low with a 62 to move within one of Moore in the opening round.

De Jonge made nine birdies and no bogeys Thursday, including four birdies in a five-hole stretch at one point. He also took just 27 putts after hitting 16 greens in regulation.

The 32-year-old South African’s TOUR card is already secured for next year -- he came into the week 58th on the money list -- but a good week in Las Vegas and a strong Fall Finish could move him into the top 30, which would lock up a spot in next year’s Masters.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

BETHESDA, Md. -- Fans not being allowed at the golf course Saturday wasn’t the only first at Congressional -- it was also the first time Brendon de Jonge had taken a 54-hole lead at a PGA TOUR event.

Now De Jonge, a former standout at Virginia Tech via Zimbabwe, will try to get his first victory in 137 career starts. This year, there have been five first-time winners.

He’s certainly been building toward this.

Since the start of the 2009 season, de Jonge has the most birdies on TOUR with 1,402 (Webb Simpson, who has had a pretty good couple of years, is second with 1,329).

To put that in perspective, that’s an average of one birdie for every five holes for de Jonge.

This week, de Jonge is just 15th in the field with 11 birdies, but he’s managed to avoid making mistakes with just four birdies through the first three rounds.

By the way, de Jonge is playing for more than just his first career win. A victory here would vault him to the top of the mini-money list to get him into the British Open for the first time in his career. De Jonge came into the week fifth on the list. The top two players not already exempt after next week get an automatic spot in the field.