Fierce competition at Volvo Golf Champions
All 35 professionals in the field for this week’s Volvo Golf Champions were given an added incentive to get a fast start to this true “tournament of champions” when they shared the stage with a cheetah at The Links at Fancourt on Tuesday.
The professionals gathered have a combined 392 wins on the European Tour, and are competing for approximately R20 million in total prize money this week.
Reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel leads a line-up of eight South Africans who qualified for this prestigious world class event, including Major winners Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen and Retief Goosen, as well as European Tour winners Thomas Aiken, Hennie Otto, Garth Mulroy and local favourite Branden Grace.
The international field features Open Champion Darren Clarke, Thomas Björn, Simon Dyson, Tom Lewis, Pádraig Harrington, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, José María Olazábal and Colin Montgomerie, among others, as well as the youngest qualifier, 18-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero.