Sport

Top line-up for Nedbank Challenge

Brad Morgan

9 November 2009

The 2009 Nedbank Golf Challenge features a 12-man field that includes current US Masters champion Angel Cabrera, multiple major winner Retief Goosen, and 20-year-old Rory McIlroy, the hottest young property in the game.

Taking place at the Sun City resort in South Africa's North West province from 3 to 6 December, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, often referred to as "Africa's major", boasts the biggest prize purse in golf.

Between them, the 12 men in the field have earned over US$200-million – in excess of R1.5-billion – in the course of their careers.

Defending champion Henrik Stenson, at number seven the highest ranked player in the field, enters the event as the 2009 Players Championship champion. His nine-shot victory in 2008 was second only to Nick Price's 12-shot win in 1993.

Three South Africans

There are three South Africans in the field: Goosen, Tim Clark, and SA Open champion Richard Sterne.

At 105 in the world rankings, Sterne is the lowest ranked player in the field, but he has enjoyed success on both South Africa's Sunshine Tour and the PGA European Tour, with three of his five European victories coming on South African soil. He earned his invite by topping the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit.

Tim Clark has been a long-time campaigner on the PGA Tour and is regarded by many as the best player not to have won on the Tour. He again came close to ending that unwanted streak in 2009, but was beaten into second place after a playoff for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial title.

He was also one of the stars for the International Team in the Presidents Cup, excelling in the face of an onslaught by the USA.

Clark has previously achieved high placings in three of the four majors, finishing second in the Masters in 2006, third in the US Open in 2005, and third in the PGA Championship in 2003.

For Goosen, 2009 has brought a welcome return to form. He won the Transitions Championship on the PGA Tour, finished second in the Canadian Open after a playoff, and ended third in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Since the BMW International Open in late June, in eight events on the European Tour, he has recorded six top-10 finishes.

Anglel Cabrera is, like Goosen, a two-time major winner. Apart from his victory in this year's Masters, he also won the US Open in 2007.

Rising star

Arguably the most exciting player in the field is Rory McIlroy. He is second in the European Tour's Race to Dubai (order of merit) standings, not far behind the leader Lee Westwood.

In 2009, the young man from Northern Ireland has won the Dubai Desert Classic, was second in the Hong Kong Open and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, third in the South African Open and the US PGA Championship, fourth in the WGC-HSBC Champions at the weekend, and fifth in the Abu Dhabi Championship, the WGC-Accenture Match Play, the BMW PGA Championship, and the Volvo World Match Play Championship. His consistency is very impressive.

Robert Karlsson, third in 2008, returns with his fellow Swede Henrik Stenson. He has not had a good year in 2009, but has shown that he enjoys the challenge of the Gary Player Country Club course.

There are two English challengers: Ross Fisher and Luke Donald.

Fisher, like McIlroy, has enjoyed a very strong season on the PGA European Tour and occupies fourth place in the Race to Dubai.

He captured the Volvo World Matchplay Championship at the end of October, was second in the BMW PGA Championship, fourth in the WGC-Accenture World Match Play, and fifth in the US Open.

Donald, who campaigns mostly on the PGA Tour in the United States has endured a little indifferent form in the second part of 2009. His best result came when he took second in the Verizon Heritage. He was also fifth in The Open Championship.

Americans

There are also two Americans in the field: Hunter Mahan and Nick Watney.

Mahan played in the Presidents Cup for the second time in 2009 and was again on the winning team.

Despite missing out on a win, he recorded some strong finishes. He was second in the AT&T National, fourth in the WGC-Bridgestone International and the Travelers Championship, and sixth in the US Open.

Watney claimed his second PGA Tour title when he captured the Buick Invitational in February. He also finished runner-up in the WGC-CA Championships, was fourth in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, and fifth in the WGC-HSBC Champions.

Australia's Robert Allenby boasts 16 international victories and four PGA Tour wins, but went winless this year. He finished second in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, was fourth in the St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx, and fifth in the Honda Classic.

Stenson (10) is the only player currently ranked in the top 10, while McIlroy (17), Fisher (19), and Goosen (20) are in the top 20. There is a bit of logjam in the twenties with Angel Cabrera (25), Hunter Mahan (26), Luke Donald (27), Robert Karlsson (28), and Robert Allenby (29). In the thirties are Nick Watney (31) and Tim Clark (38), with Sterne at 105.

Organisation

Tournament director Alistair Roper said it had been a tough challenge getting a quality field together because this year, for the first time, the dates of the Nedbank Golf Challenge clashed with Tiger Woods' Chevron World Challenge.

Nonetheless, he said: "We have a field of incredible quality, with all of them showing excellent form coming in to the tournament.

"This year has shown the depth of quality there is in professional golf at the moment, with some relatively surprising major winners and a number of new names winning on both the PGA and European Tours. We look forward to another week of high quality golf and world class competition."



	The Gary Player Country Club at Sun City in North West province is home to the multimillion-dollar Nedbank Golf Challenge (Photo by John Hrusa, copyright South African Tourism)



	Henrik Stenson acknowledges the applause of the crowd on his way to victory in the 2008 Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City (Photo: Nedbank Golf Challenge)