Nedbank Challenge field named
Brad Morgan
13 October 2006
The field for the 2006 Nedbank Golf Challenge has been announced, with Ernie Els set to contest the event for a record fifteenth time, along with South Africans Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and Charl Schwartzel.
The event, to be held at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City from 30 November to 3 December, boasts a total prize fund of US$4 385 000, of which $1.2-million goes to the winner.
Els is a former three-time winner of the prestigious tournament, and has pocketed over seven million dollars in his previous visits to the Gary Player Country Club. The course has been good to him in the past, and the event comes at a good time for The Big Easy.
After undergoing knee surgery in late July 2005, Els' form has been somewhat variable, but recently it appears that he is finding his old consistency, which makes him a threat to win each time out.
Flying under the radar
2004 winner Retief Goosen,
despite being a two-time major winner, is one of those players who always seems to fly under the radar. It would seem he has had a quiet year, and while the wins haven't come - apart from victory in the SAA Open - he has achieved some really good results.
"The Goose" finished third in the US Masters, while on the US PGA Tour he finished second in The Players Championship and fourth in the BellSouth Classic. In Europe, he took second in the BMW International Open after a playoff, fourth in The Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe, and sixth in the Dubai Desert Classic.
Goosen has in the past shown the ability to lift his game when the competition is at its toughest, so he cannot be discounted at Sun City.
Immelman in hot form
Trevor Immelman, meanwhile, has made a huge splash in his first season on the US PGA Tour. In fact, he's the hot favourite to land Rookie of the Year honours.
Immelman secured his maiden Tour victory
in the Cialis Western Open, while his other results have included second in the Wachovia Championship and the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, and seventh in The Nissan Open and The Memorial.
As a result, Immelman has risen to a career-high world ranking of thirteen.
Charl Schwartzel, who earned his spot after qualifying as the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner, has also shown that it is only a matter of time before he adds to his one European Tour victory in the Dunhill Championship of 2005.
In 2006, Schwartzel finished second in the same tournament, and added runner-up finishes at the Barclays Scottish Open and the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe.
Defending champion
Also in the field is defending champion Jim Furyk, who has been in fine form in 2006 and has moved up to a ranking of second in the world.
The American's year has included wins in the Wachovia Championship and the Canadian Open. His consistency
has been evident with a second-place finish in the Verizon Heritage, the Buick Open and the US Open. Furyk also took third in the Mercedes Championships, The Players Championship and the WGC-Bridgestone International, along with fourth in the Sony Open, the Cialis Western Open and the WGC-American Express Championship.
Colin Montgomerie, the winner in 1996, is also in the field. He recently showed his form to be very good when he played a pivotal role in Europe's convincing victory over the US in the Ryder Cup.
Recent winner
Another Ryder Cup star, Padraig Harrington, who fired the lowest ever round over the Gary Player Country Club in 2001 with a 61, is included. He's coming off a victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links earlier this month.
Jose Maria Olazabel, another member of Europe's victorious team, sneaked into the field because of his world ranking of seventeen when the cut-off for the Nedbank Challenge was made.
Two other
European Ryder Cup stars, David Howell and Henrik Stenson, will make their bow in the event.
Two European Tour wins
Howell has been in excellent form this season and is currently third on the European Order of Merit. His results include victories in the HSBC Champions Tournament and the BMW Championship.
Stenson is sixth on the Order of Merit. He won the BMW International Open and took second in both the Abu Dhabi Championships and the BMW Asian Open.
2003 winner Sergio Garcia returns to Sun City for the seventh time, while Chris DiMarco, the winner of the European Tour's Abu Dhabi Championship, makes his fifth appearance.
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