Europe’s Champions gather for season opener in Durban
Before the tournament gets underway from 9-12 January, a host of South African sport stars and top celebrities will get the chance to test themselves against the world beaters in the official pro-am on Wednesday.
Former World Cup winning Springbok captain John Smit and former Protea skipper Shaun Pollock will lead the challenge alongside Dolphin standouts Kyle Abbot and Daryn Smit and the Shark’s Odwa Ndungane and Charl McCleod, while South African novelist John van der Ruit of Spud fame and renowned rugby and golf commentator Matthew Pearce are also in the line-up.
The chance to go up against the cream from the European Tour is an opportunity of a lifetime for Pollock, a scratch golfer himself who boasts a mantle filled with amateur trophies.
“It is fantastic to have a tournament of this nature in Durban,” he said. “It will be a real privilege to play alongside the world’s best golfers on a championship course. I know I will be a touch nervous on that first tee, as I don’t know my swing as well as my bowling action, but I’m looking forward to it and hopefully our fourball can put in a decent performance.”
Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen from South Africa will lead the challenge for the winner’s share worth $700,000 in the US$ 4-million championship and will enjoy strong support from six other South Africans hoping for third successive home victory.
The 2010 Open champion’s wingmen include 2011 Masters Champion and recent Alfred Dunhill Championship winner Charl Schwartzel, 2012 Volvo Golf Champion winner Branden Grace, and European Tour winners Darren Fichardt, Dawie van der Walt, Thomas Aiken and Richard Sterne.
Although the 36 players in this week’s line up share 227 victories in Europe, 18 of the 31 European Tour victories by the seven South African players in the field were recorded on South African soil.
The South Africans can expect a tough challenge, though.
Eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie, the oldest player in the field at 50, boasts a total of 31 wins, while Spanish legend Miguel Ángel Jiménez, who turned 50 on Sunday, reeled in his 20th European Tour title at the Hong Kong Open in December.
Even 20-year-old Matteo Manassero from Italy, the youngest player in the field, has trriumphed four times since turning professional in 2010.
Other notable names include England’s Paul Casey, who won the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions in 2011, Nedbank Golf Challenge champion Thomas Björn from Denmark and his young compatriot Morten Orum Madsen, winner of 2013 South African Open Championship.
While Casey battled with a lenghty comeback after a rib injury in 2009, but announced his return to the top with an impressive win at the 2013 Irish Open, Björn strengthened his 2014 Ryder Cup bid with a spectacular come-from-behind win at Sun City and Madsen outlasted Schwartzel and former European Tour champion Hennie Otto to claim the world’s second oldest title at Glendower in November.
Among the early arrivals ahead of the practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday, Ireland’s Pádraig Harrington had his first look at the 17-time SA Open Championship venue on Sunday and the three-time Major winner pronounced the course “in perfect condition” for this year’s tournament.
The championship returns for second consecutive year to the Province of KwaZulu-Natal and the magnificent Durban Country Club.
While the Championship is being supported by the Provincial Government’s Department for Economic Develop and Tourism, Durban will also play host to the Volvo World Golf Challenge World Final – Volvo’s global tournament for customers.
The World Finalists qualified through local and national tournaments in almost 50 Volvo markets around the world. In what is a genuine ‘money can’t buy’ experience, the top finishers from the World Final get the chance to play together with the stars of The European Tour on the Friday of the Volvo Golf Champions, live on television, in front of a worldwide audience of millions. It’s called ‘Playing with the Pros’ – an opportunity that exists nowhere else in golf.
The 2014 player field:
2013 European Tour winners
Thomas Aiken Avantha Masters
Kiradech Aphibarnrat Maybank Malaysian Open
Thomas Björn Omega European Masters
Gregory Bourdy ISPS Handa Wales Open
Paul Casey Irish Open
Jamie Donaldson Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
Victor Dubuisson Turkish Airlines Open
Gonzalo Fdez-Castaño BMW Masters
Darren Fichardt Africa Open
Tommy Fleetwood Johnnie Walker Championship
Stephen Gallacher Omega Dubai Desert Classic
Michael Hoey M2M Russian Open
David Howell Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Mikko Ilonen Nordea Masters
Raphael Jacquelin Open de Espana
Jin Jeong Perth International
Joost Luiten Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity
David Lynn Portugal Masters
Matteo Manassero BMW PGA Championship
Louis Oosthuizen Volvo Golf Champions
Morten Ørum Madsen South African Open
Julien Quesne Lindt Italian Open
Brett Rumford Ballantine's Championship
Charl Schwartzel Alfred Dunhill Championship
Marcel Siem Trophee Hassan II
Richard Sterne Joburg Open
Simon Thornton Open Najeti Hotels and Golf, St Omer
Peter Uihlein Madeira Islands Open
Dawie Van Der Walt Tshwane Open
Chris Wood Commercialbank Qatar Masters
Past winner of the Volvo Golf Champions:
Branden Grace
Players with 10 or more official Race to Dubai/European Tour Order of Merit tournament wins:
Darren Clarke
Padraig Harrington
Miguel Angel Jiménez
Robert Karlsson
Colin Montgomerie
José Maria Olazabal
For more information, please visit www.volvoingolf.com
(File photo:Gallo Images)
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