Alfred Dunhill Championship preview
The Alfred Dunhill Championship will take place from December 9th to December 12th at the Leopard Creek Country Club. The first even of the European Tour 2011 has definitely got the players on the edge of their seats. A lot of top class
players will be in South Africa along with Spain’s Pablo Martin, who is the defending champion of the Dunhill Championship.
This tournament will give more opportunities to home players and the less popular players on the European Tour. Also, it will be a chance for Challenge Tour graduates to start their tour on a good note. The Leopard Creek Country Club was designed by Gary
Player and offers amazing facilities as it sits on the edge of Kruger National Park. Including bushes and grasslands, this course is also known for its assortment of wildlife. This surely makes the course unique and also provides a lot of entertainment as
well.
When talking about the wildlife, there is a hippopotamus living in the lake by the 16th hole, and impala, waterbuck, crocodiles, giraffes and even leopards have either been seen on or around the course.
In 1995, the championship was the first European Tour event which was communally sanctioned with another tour. This tournament initiates the sequence of another four European Tour events that will take place in South Africa. Following the championship is
the South African Open Championship which will take place at the Durban Country Club, then there is the Africa Open which will take place at East London and lastly there is the Joburg Open which takes place at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf course.
In 2009, the defending champion, Martin posted a nine under 63 in the second round and then battled off Charl Schwartzel with a final round three under 69. Martin’s win at the Alfred Dunhill Championship gave him his second title on the European tour. Pablo
achieved par on the final five holes to cling on to triumph. Charl on the other hand posted a birdie on the last hole and finished one hole back. In 2007, Martin became the first amateur player to win a title on the European Tour when he was victorious at
the Estoril Open de Portugal in 2007 and turned professional afterwards.
This weekend, Martin will tee off against British Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen, 2009 winner Richard Sterne, David Howell, and Martin’s close competition Schwartzel. Schwartzel has won twice in Africa in January, however David who just finished in the
top ten once in 2010, hasn’t won a tournament since 2006.
Oosthuzien, who finished last in the Nedbank golf challenge, is determined to get a good start on the 2011 race to Dubai. This would be his first full-field event on home soil since he raised the Claret Jug at St. Andrews in July. Oosthuzien will definitely
be one of the crowd favourites and will be received with a lot of love and cheers as he appears on the course on Thursday.
Also a part of the Sunshine tour, the Alfred Dunhill Championship is always held in South Africa. Even though the tournament itself was founded in 2000, it’s origins lie in Dunhill’s sponsorship of the South African PGA Championship between 1995 and 1993.
With the first event being held on the Houghton Golf club, it was moved to Leopard Creek in 2004.
With The tour ending with the Dubai World Championship just two weeks ago, the circuit will start again from Dubai. Whether it’s the charm or the beauty of Dubai, it is always given the honour of hosting the last event of the tour season. The European tour
will start this weekend in South Africa and 52 weeks later will end in Dubai.
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