Els favourite in quality South African Open field

BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2006 South African Airways Open | Preview | 13 Dec 2006

It might not yet be Christmas in 2006, but this week sees the sixth event of the 2007 European season – the South African Airways Open or the South African Open played as an event co-sanctioned between the European and Sunshine Tours. The South African Open is the second oldest Open Championship in the World after the British Open.

The event is being staged at the Humewood Golf Club in Port Elizabeth on the south eastern coast of South Africa for the first time since 1957 although it was held at the venue on four occasions prior to that. Humewood Golf Club was originally built in 1931 and stands adjacent to the Indian Ocean.

Since originally joining forces with the European Tour in 1997, the event has been won on seven of the ten occasions by South Africans. The participation once again of Ernie Els, Reteif Goosen, Trevor Immelman and Tim Clark, who have collectively won those seven, along with several of South Africa’s emerging stars such as Charles Schwartzel, suggests that the foreign invasion will be hard pressed to stop that trend.

The co-sanctioning of the event has provided a field that also includes the likes of Lee Westwood, Sweden’s Mathias Gronberg who is a previous winner and last week’s surprise winner, Alvaro Quiros of Spain, who has only just graduated to the European Tour via his year on the Challenge Tour in 2006. That Quiros was able to step up to the plate so quickly at last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship and defeat the likes of Westwood, Schwartzel and Els highlights the bright future the 23 year old possesses.

Els is the favourite as he is regularly in the firing line in his home events and because he has not been outside the top ten in his last eight events this year. The layout that Hunewood offers should suit Els to a tee given that he has often contended at the British Open on similar links style courses.

Despite a couple of missed cuts in recent events there has been enough good form of late for defending champion, Retief Goosen, to be a major factor this week. His recent third place in China and fourth placing at the USPGA Tour Championship indicate his preparedness to do battle with Els.

Trevor Immelman is a two time winner of the event and competes this year as a player who has elevated his status in world golf in 2006. Immelman was the Rookie of the Year on the USPGA Tour in 2006 in a season which included a victory at the Western Open in Chicago. The arrival of his first child in July has meant a restricted schedule in the second half of the season but he has still played well.

Tim Clark is also a two time winner of this event and, while his form of late has not been to the level of some of his fellow countrymen, he is playing well enough to be a consideration especially if things get tough. Clark plays tough courses well and if conditions suit then he might be a contender on Sunday.

Charles Schwartzel has always appeared as the next best thing out of South Africa and his recent form and growing maturity are beginning to show that those early predictions are being fulfilled. He was runner up last week at the Alfred Dunhill event after letting go of a third round lead and so is in the sort of form to perhaps go one better this week. He is a brilliant prospect and is still only just 22 despite having played the European Tour since 2003.

Lee Westwood did well last week and has often played well in South Africa. He is in very good form in recent weeks and can be expected to do well this week.

Angel Cabrera has slipped a little in world ranking of late although he did finish runner up in a South American Tour event at his last start. As a player good enough to finish in 7th place at the Open Championship five months ago and 4th at the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in August he deserves respect.

Several Australians have made their way across the Indian Ocean to take advantage of early season starts on the South African Tour including Wade Ormsby who seems to have turned his game around by addressing some alignment issues. But for a triple bogey at the par five 15th hole at Hyatt Regency Coolum on Saturday, he might well have been in the thick of things late on Sunday at the Australian PGA Championship. He actually joined the leaders halfway through the final round but could not hold off Nick O’Hern and Peter Lonard and finished third, three shots behind the playoff pair. He is a player with renewed enthusiasm it would seem having regained his card at the recent Tour School and performed so well last week.

Andrew Tampion has only recently turned professional after representing Australia at the Eisenhower in South Africa and gaining his card at the European Tour School. He finished 17th at the Australian Open but has struggled apart from that in his four starts as a professional but he is a talented player with quite a future.

The tournament has prizemoney of €1 million.