After being cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Alfred Dunhill Championship is back on the DP World Tour schedule.

The tournament — which is being held at the famed Leopard Creek Country Club in Mpumalanga from 8 to 11 December — marks the final event of the DP World Tour’s South African swing, and the cream of the crop of SA golf will be vying to hold the leopard trophy come Sunday afternoon.

Headline acts 

The field consists of a who’s who of South African golf, with 18 of the top 20-ranked South Africans set to tee up on Thursday.

The event is headlined by Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion. Despite slipping to 51st in the world, in part due to joining LIV Golf earlier in the year, Oosthuizen is still South Africa’s highest-ranked golfer.

Oosthuizen has an impressive record of ending every year since 2010 inside the top 50 of the world rankings and will be looking for a strong finish to continue that run and secure his spot in all four of next year’s major championships.

Another headline act is Ernie Els, the four-time major champion and Hall of Famer, who will be making his first tournament appearance in South Africa in more than 2½ years.

The 53-year-old Els last featured on South African shores at the 2020 Dimension Data Pro-Am, where he narrowly missed the cut by one.

The “Big Easy” is coming off a winless season on the Champions Tour, where he finished ninth on the money list, earning more than $1.5-million in 22 events. Els will be hoping to feed off the memories of his 2005 Alfred Dunhill Championship victory and put in a good showing for the spectators this week.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout celebrates winning the 2020 Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club. (Photo: Carl Fourie / Gallo Images)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is the defending champion, having won the event in 2020, where he sealed a comfortable four-stroke victory over a quartet of players. Bezuidenhout is coming off his first season on the PGA Tour, where he finished a respectable 51st in the FedExCup standings, earning more than $2.2-million in the process.

The 28-year-old also made his Presidents Cup debut in September, where he was selected as a captain’s pick for Trevor Immelman’s International side. Bezuidenhout finished the week with one win and one draw in two matches played, which included a two and one singles win over matchplay maestro Kevin Kisner.

A stellar field

In terms of horses for courses, no one loves Leopard Creek more than Charl Schwartzel. The 2011 Masters champion has won a record four Alfred Dunhill Championships, which include a 12-stroke victory in the 2012 edition, where he set a tournament record of 24 under par in the process.

Charl Schwartzel plays an approach on the 13th hole during the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Golf Club on 27 November 2015. (Photo: Jan Kruger / Getty Images)

Schwartzel is coming off a T9 at last week’s Investec South African Open Championship, and given his record, he may well be a factor come Sunday afternoon.

Branden Grace is another past champion in the field, having won the 2014 edition in dominant fashion. Grace is coming off a stellar first season playing LIV Golf, where he claimed victory in Portland, US, and finished second in the season-long order of merit, earning more than $16.6-million.

However, despite this, he has slipped to 194th in the world rankings, which would see him miss all four majors next year. As a result, the 34-year-old will be looking for a strong showing this week to improve his chances.

Thriston Lawrence, who won last week’s SA Open, is arguably the most in-form player in the field, with three DP World Tour wins in the past calendar year.

Lawrence currently sits at the top of the Race to Dubai, and after moving up to a career-high 64th in the world rankings following last week’s triumph, a strong showing at Leopard Creek would see him move ever closer to the elusive top 50, and secure a spot in next year’s majors.

Other notables in the field include Dean Burmester, who is up to 58th in the world after last week’s top five: past champions Brandon Stone, Marcel Siem and Richard Sterne, as well as PGA Tour winners Dylan Frittelli and Erik van Rooyen.

A South African gem 

Located in Malelane, Mpumalanga, Leopard Creek is consistently ranked as one of the best courses in South Africa, and among the top 100 worldwide. 

Set against the backdrop of the Kruger National Park, the course has been home to the Alfred Dunhill Championship since 2004. 

“It’s a privilege to have this co-sanctioned event back at Leopard Creek; more especially following on last year’s late cancellation of the event,” said Johan Piek, club director at Leopard Creek Country Club. 

“We have a very strong field including multiple major winners this year, so the opportunity to host some of the world’s best golfers, whilst showcasing our beautiful natural environs to the world, is of huge value to us and our community as well,” said Piek.

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The club began preparing for the tournament in mid-September with the scarifying of general areas, while the greens were hollow-tined a few weeks later, he explained.

Piek said the course had “matured noticeably” since the event was last played in 2020, building on the 2018 switch from Bent/Kikuyu grass to Cynodon (Bermuda) grass.

“The course is now playing to its full potential, and feedback from the professionals seems to support this notion,” he said.

“Weather permitting, we’re in for some fantastic viewing. The greens will be firm and true, rolling at speeds that this calibre of player expects. Can’t wait to watch it all unfold.” DM