Field set to sizzle at Sun City

Sun City - The 30 players that will tee it up in Thursday’s first round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge bring with them a collective golfing might that is among the strongest ever seen at the Gary Player Country Club.

The expanded field includes players who have a combined 354 tournament victories worldwide. There are also five Major winners in the field, including Ernie Els, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and defending champion Martin Kaymer.

In terms of current form, 23 of the 30 golfers have won at least one title this year.

And there are 18 golfers making their debut in “Africa’s Major”.

But perhaps the most important statistic of all is that the field includes a select group of four golfers who are past Nedbank Golf Challenge champions. Els, Kaymer, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia are quite clearly the ones the rest of the field will look to as the favourites.

The 2013 Nedbank Golf Challenge field:

Victor Dubuisson
Thongchai Jaidee
Thomas Bjørn
Thaworn Wiratchant
Sergio Garcia
Peter Uihlein
Richard Sterne
Ryan Moore
Matteo Manassero
Morten Ørum Madsen
Peter Senior
Louis Oosthuizen
Luke Donald
Martin Kaymer
Joost Luiten
Justin Rose
Kevin Streelman
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño
Henrik Stenson
Jamie Donaldson
Ernie Els
Francesco Molinari
Gary Woodland
DA Points
Darren Fichardt
Dawie van der Walt
Branden Grace
Brendon de Jonge
Charl Schwartzel
David Lynn