Branden Grace is targeting a place at the Masters as he prepares for this week’s HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi after back-to-back European Tour victories (Grace 55/1 – HSBC Golf Championship Outright).

The 23-year-old had not won an event on the European Tour in his previous 49 starts but followed up a one-shot victory at the Joburg Open by claiming the Volvo Golf Champions event on Sunday after a play-off with Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.

Back-to-back tournament triumphs have seen the South African ace move up 166 places in the world rankings and he is now 92nd, with every chance of improving that number after this week’s outing in the United Arab Emirates.

The Pretoria-born star needs to climb into the world’s top 50 to qualify for the Augusta event and he admits the chance to mix it with the best players in the world at the famous Georgia venue is something that he has always dreamt of (Rory McIlroy 8/1f – Masters Outright).

“Getting into the top 50, I think that is every player’s goal,” he said. “To get into a Major would be an unbelievable year.

“If I could achieve that to get into the Masters, it would just be a highlight, indescribable.”

Things are about to get a lot tougher, however, as the big names of European golf will make their season debut in Abu Dhabi, with the top three in the world rankings, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, set to tee it up.

There is also the small matter of a resurgent Tiger Woods making a rare appearance on the European Tour and Grace is relishing the chance to test his skills against the best around.