Schwartzel adds to star-studded Alfred Dunhill field

Charl Schwartzel has confirmed he will return to Leopard Creek in search of a record fifth Alfred Dunhill Championship, adding his name to a glittering array of stars competing at SA’s top-ranked golf course from December 12-15.

The 2011 US Masters champion will join defending champion Louis Oosthuizen in a field that includes eight of the last 13 champions of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek. Ockie Strydom, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Pablo Larrazábal, Brandon Stone, Richard Sterne and Alvaro Quiros are the other former champions.

PGA Tour winners Erik van Rooyen and Dylan Frittelli, multiple DP World Tour champions Thriston Lawrence and Dean Burmester, and rising star Aldrich Potgieter — who has just secured his PGA Tour card for the new season — add to this year’s impressive line-up.

The 20-year-old Chinese sensation Wenyi Ding makes his debut at the tournament.

SA’s Altin van der Merwe also returns to Leopard Creek, where he won the inaugural Africa Amateur Championship in February before turning professional.

Schwartzel will be more motivated than before to add to his already incredible history in this tournament and at this golf course.

He has four Alfred Dunhill Championship titles to his name and still holds the record tournament total of 24 under par and the biggest victory margin of 12 strokes.

Perhaps even more significant is that he has now finished runner-up five times in the tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour. Last year he pushed for victory with close friend Oosthuizen until the final hole before finishing two strokes behind.

“Growing up in SA and being privileged to grow up on a farm, I was around big space my whole life. I grew to love nature a lot. Our weekend getaways were always to the bushveld,” Schwartzel said.

“Everybody has their place they go where they get that calming effect and where you feel like you’re alone in the world. The bush does that to me. I love the sounds and the smells. It gives me a lot of peace.

“So that’s why Leopard Creek is so special to me. There is no setting like it in the world — to play golf on the edge of the Crocodile River and the Kruger National Park. It doesn’t get much better than that.”