Schwartzel and Joburg Cup: will he fulfil the expectations?
Time is heading in close for Charl Schwartzel, as in the second week of January, his fate and defensive skills will be put to the greatest test. He will be landing in the golf course to defend his title of the Joburg Open.
With a total purse of 1.3 million Euros this year, the Joburg Open is anticipated to accommodate up to 200 professional as well as amateur golfers in the tournament.
Thus, the upcoming golf event, on one hand, will see some exciting encounters between top notch golfers, and at the same time, also provide the audience with some key upsets that may take place during the course of the event.
According to City’s Director of events, Bongi Mokaba, the best thing about the tournament being organised this year is that it will allow a number of amateur golfers to demonstrate their golfing skills in a major event of the sport.
“The tournament has allowed these golfers a platform to perform,” he claimed.
In addition to this, it is also important to mention that the new rule of increasing the quota of amateurs in golf events is in line with the new rules and regulations that have been introduced by the watchdog authority R&A.
“The field will comprise 206 professionals and four amateurs, the amateurs are made up of the top amateur in the country, Brandon Stone, and three development players”.
Furthermore, the line-up for the event has been festooned with the participation of other major players, such as Charl Schwartzel, Ariel Canete and Richard Sterne.
Viewers as well as golf fans are looking forward to an exciting encounter as they anticipate a tough competition between the trio of golfers.
Needless to mention that apart from Schwartzel, the latter two can never be underrated when it comes either to performance or in terms of the recognition they have acquired in the world of golf.
This can further be highlighted from the fact that Canete, from Latin America, has previously enjoyed the position of being a Joburg Champion.
Meanwhile, Sterne has also enjoyed the position of being the champion back in 2008. Hence, it would be a misconception to believe that it would be easy for Schwartzel to overcome them.
They know the rules, the tricks and above all, they are well aware of the dynamics that govern the game. All this contributes to factors that can pose a serious threat to Charl’s defensive mechanism.
However, there are still areas that can help the 27-year-old golfer in materialising his aim of remaining the champion.
With 3 amateur wins and 5 Sunshine Tour Wins, out of which 3 were in Africa, his understanding regarding the various features and components of the place has increased phenomenally.
Players like Canete and Sterne, who won the tournament four to five years back, might provide him with areas and mistakes that he can easily capitalise on and establish his gaming strategy from there onwards.
Additionally, their contemporary lack of comprehension regarding the golf courses of Kensington Golf Club will also serve as a pivotal area that can easily prove advantageous for Schwartzel, when making his tee in the tournament.
Apart from all this, another interesting fact remains that this time the scale and level of arrangement for the game has also undergone substantial modification.
This can easily be manifested with the influx of new sponsors, such as BMW and Investec, for the grand event, thus not only raising the stature of the event, but an element of exhilaration as well.
Tags: