Genworth Stats Pack - Preview Report

Charl Schwartzel arrives to compete this week as the defending champion, with an incredible record at Leopard Creek over the last eight years (four runner-up finishes and two wins). Last December, the 29 year old South African obliterated the field by 12 shots, dominating pretty much every Genworth Statistics category (see below). Most impressive was the combination of 1st for Greens in Regulation and 2nd for Putts per Round, which led to tremendous scoring across the different hole types. After not quite finishing the tournament off last week in Ekurhuleni, Charl will no doubt be eager to restore dominance over the pre-Christmas South African swing come Sunday afternoon.

Richard Sterne has competed in this event 10 times before, recording some great results in recent years (three top ten’s plus a win in 2008). Looking at his Genworth Statistics from his last four European Tour starts (the Final Series), the 32 year old South African has enjoyed some good long game weeks (including ranking 4th for Greens in Regulation in Dubai), but not really produced any big performances in the short game and putting categories - all leading to mid-table finishes. The familiar Leopard Creek greens could prove the vital ingredient though for the 6 time European Tour winner, who could easily light it up this week.

Hennie Otto has competed in this event 15 times before (with a best of 6th in 2006) and he arrives off the back of a 2nd place finish last week in Ekurhuleni. Looking at his Genworth Statistics from his last four European Tour starts, the 37 year old South African has produced some excellent Greens in Regulation and Putts per GIR figures (the combination of which suggests accurate approach play). And when struggling with the long game in Italy, he ranked 1st for Putts per Round on his way to finishing 8th. Although last week’s runner-up result may have left a bitter taste in the mouth, the 2 time European Tour winner really is in fantastic form.

Ross Fisher has competed in this event 3 times before (with a best of 4th in 2006) and he arrives in consistent form with finishes of 34th / 10th / 26th / 22nd from his last four European Tour starts. Looking at his Genworth Statistics from those events, the 33 year old English golfer has been performing well from tee to green (including hitting more than 30% of the Par 5 greens in sub-regulation), but he has also been averaging nearly 31 Putts per Round which may need to improve in order to climb up into contention and win this week.

Garth Mulroy has competed in this event 5 times before, winning in 2011 followed up by a 3rd last year, and he arrives in steady form with finishes of 17th / 18th / 56th / 10th from his last four European Tour starts. Looking at his Genworth Statistics from those events, the 35 year old South African seemed to struggle in Dubai (which is distorting the numbers below), but his game was much better in the other three tournaments, especially his short game and putting. Considering Garth’s recent record at Leopard Creek, he will no doubt be in confident mood as we begin the week.

Alejandro Cañizares has competed in this event twice before with a best of 50th last year (so he is perhaps still finding his way around the course), but he arrives in improving form with finishes of 44th / 18th / 14th / 6th from his last four European Tour starts. Looking at his Genworth Statistics for those events, the 30 year old Spanish golfer is ranking high for Driving Accuracy and steadily for Greens in Regulation, but his short game and putting has turned red hot (ranking 1st for Putts per Round in Ekurhuleni last week).

George Coetzee has competed in this event 5 times before (with a best of 3rd in 2011) and he arrives in average form by his standards with finishes of 57th / 74th / 12th / 32nd over the four Final Series tournaments. Looking at his Genworth Statistics from those events, the 27 year old South African has been ranking comparatively low for Greens in Regulation, which may be pressurizing the short game in order to score. All good players have periods where things are not quite clicking or they are working on some changes though, so don’t be surprised to see the huge hitting talent return to form this week.

Morten Ørum Madsen has competed in the Alfred Dunhill Championship once before and he arrives having secured his first European Tour victory last week in Ekurhuleni. Looking at his Genworth Statistics from that win, the 25 year old Danish golfer seemed to overpower the Glendower course, ranking 8th for Driving Distance, 4th for Greens in Regulation and 2nd for par 5’s in two - accumulating 24 birdies in total with some superb scoring on the Par 4’s and Par 5’s. Morten is improving all the time and seems to be the type of player that could produce strong back to back performances.