Alfred Dunhill Championship Preview

The 2011 European Tour gets underway this week with the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in South Africa. Pablo Martin of Spain defends the title.

Pablo Martin defends
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Lowdown: The 2011 European Tour gets underway this week with the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in South Africa. Pablo Martin of Spain defends the title. Just two weeks after the 2010 European Tour season reached its climax at the Dubai World Championship the 2011 circuit starts this Thursday. The field for the Alfred Dunhill Championship may be heavily dominated by home players but the tournament provides an opportunity for some of the European Tour's lesser-lights and graduates of the Challenge Tour to kick-start their 2011 campaign. Open champion Louis Oosthuizen is on the start list as is his countryman Charl Schwartzel - the winner of this event in 2005. Among the entrants from the UK are: Golf Monthly columnist David Howell, 2000 tournament winner Anthony Wall, Robert Rock, Oliver Fisher and Michael Hoey. Last season Schwartzel narrowly missed out on a second victory at Leopard Creek as Pablo Martin pipped him to the title by a single stroke. 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. There's a hippopotamus living in the lake by the 16th hole and waterbuck, impala, giraffes, crocodiles and leopards have all been seen on and around the course. Back in 1995 the championship was the first European Tour event to be co-sanctioned with another tour. This tournament begins a run of four straight European Tour events to be contested in South Africa. Next week the South African Open Championship will visit Durban Country Club then, in the New Year, the Africa Open at East London will be followed by the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington GC.

Venue: Leopard Creek Country Club, South Africa Date: Dec 9-12 Course stats: par 72, 7,249 yards Purse: €1,000,000 Winner: €158,000 Defending Champion: Pablo Martin (-17)

TV Coverage: Thursday 9 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 8.30am Friday 10 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 8.30am Saturday 11 - Live on Sky Sports 1 from 10.30am Sunday 12 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 10.30am

Player Watch: Charl Schartzel - He has a fantastic record in this event. He was the winner in 2005 and has three times been a runner-up.

Robert Rock - The Englishman was fourth here last season and tied second the year before. He'll be looking for another solid performance.

Matt Haines - After graduating from the Challenge Tour, Haines begins his first full season on the European Tour. Look for him to get off to a flyer. 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.

Skills required: Beating Charl Schwartzel. Since winning the tournament in 2005, the South African finished tied for second in 2006 and second on his own in both 2007 and last year.

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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