Alfred Dunhill Championship Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times

The European Tour remains in South Africa for the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek CC. Home player Brandon Stone is the defending champion.

Alfred Dunhill Championship Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times

It’s the last European Tour event of 2018 this week. Brandon Stone is the defending champion in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek CC.

A good field has assembled for this event as the players return to Leopard Creek for the first time since 2016. Defending champ Brandon Stone will tee it up and South Africa is well represented. Last week’s winner of the South African Open Louis Oosthuizen will play, as will Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els, Branden Grace and Dylan Frittelli.

Among the international stars looking to finish 2018 on a high in South Africa are: England’s Matt Wallace, Americans Kurt Kitayama and Chase Koepka, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson.

This tournament began life as the South African PGA, but since 2000 it’s been known as either the Alfred Dunhill Championship or the Dunhill Championship. Since 2005 it’s been played at Leopard Creek Country Club, although the event wasn’t held last year as Leopard Creek was undergoing renovations.

Designed by Gary Player, the course at Leopard Creek is in a stunning setting on the edge of Kruger National Park. Winding through the bush and grasslands past natural water hazards, the layout is famed for its plentiful and diverse wildlife.

Back in 1995 the championship was the first European Tour event to be co-sanctioned with another tour. Since then there have been some notable winners. Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Charl Schwartzel have all been champions.

Last time out, Brandon Stone took the title. He cruised home to win by seven shots from fellow South African Richard Sterne. You have to go back to Pablo Martin in 2011 to find the last non-South African winner in this event. The home players will be out to keep that run going.

The weather looks like being pretty hot with temperatures climbing towards the high 30s centigrade.

Venue: Leopard Creek Country Club, Malelane, South Africa Date: Dec 13-16 Course stats: par 72, 7,287 yards Purse: €1,500,000 Defending champion: Brandon Stone (-22)

How to watch the Alfred Dunhill Championship

TV Coverage: Thursday 13 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.30am Friday 14 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.30am Saturday 15 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 9.30am Sunday 16 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 9.30am

Not a Sky Sports customer and want to watch the Alfred Dunhill Championship?

BUY NOW: Now TV Sky Sports Pass – £7.99 for a day, £12.99 for a week or £33.99 for a month

Players to watch:

Charl Schwartzel – He has a tremendous record in this event. He’s won it four times, finished second four more times and fourth last time it was held. He was also tied third last week in Johannesburg.

Thomas Aiken – Also tied for third last week, Aiken has finished top-five in this event on three occasions, inclucing 2016.

Branden Grace – A top-10 in the South African Open will give Grace confidence heading into an event he won in 2015.

Key hole: 18th. A 541 yard par 5 that can be reached in two. Water comes into play on the approach – Ernie Els found it twice during the final round of 2007 and lost the tournament by a shot.