SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2015 - ALFRED DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP
CHARL SCHWARTZEL
• His tenth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 280th European Tour event.
• Moves to 237,750 points in The Race to Dubai and goes to the top after the first event.
• Could move back into the top 35 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 50th.
• His first European Tour victory since the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Championship. This is a gap of one year and 363 days.
• In that time has played 32 European Tour events.
• This victory beats his best previous European Tour finish since his victory in the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Championship of second in the 2015 South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni, when he lost a play-off to Andy Sullivan.
• This is his fourth victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship. His last three European Tour triumphs have all come in this event, the 2013, 2014 and 2016 editions.
• This victory means that six of his last seven European Tour victories have come on home soil, dating back to the 2010 Africa Open. (The only European Tour success not to come in South Africa since 2010 was the 2011 Masters Tournament).
• Has now won seven of his ten European Tour titles in South Africa.
• Has now won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in the 2005, 2013, 2014 and 2016 seasons.
OTHER FACTS
• Becomes the eighth different player in European Tour history to win the same official event four or more times. They are: Tiger Woods (eight times - WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and seven times - WGC – Cadillac Championship, he also won the US PGA Championship four times),Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer (five times – Open Championship and German Open respectively. (Langer also won the German Masters four times) and four times for Seve Ballesteros (Alstom Open de France), Sir Nick Faldo (PGA Championship), Mark McNulty (German Open), Miguel Angel Jiménez (UBS Hong Kong Open) and Charl Schwartzel (Alfred Dunhill Championship). (Woods won the first of his four Masters Tournament titles in 1997 before the event became part of The European Tour. Ernie Els won seven World Match Play titles but only two were considered official).
• Becomes only the third player to win four or more official European Tour events on the same course. They are: Tiger Woods (eight times at Firestone Country Club – WGC – Bridgestone Invitational), Miguel Angel Jiménez (four times – Hong Kong Golf Club – UBS Hong Kong Open) and Charl Schwartzel (four times – Leopard Creek Country Club – Alfred Dunhill Championship).
• This seventh win on home soil sees him move to the top of the list for most European Tour victories in co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour. He moves above Ernie Els, who has six. Also is the most number of European Tour wins by a South African on home soil.
• Becomes only the third South African to win ten or more European Tour titles, following Ernie Els (28) and Retief Goosen (14).
• Becomes the youngest South African to reach ten victories, aged 31, beating the previous record of Ernie Els, who was 32.
• His fourth victory comes in his 13th appearance in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
• All four of his victories have come in just 11 appearances in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, all at Leopard Creek Country Club. (Apart from his four triumphs he has been second four times).
• Has now won €1,292,498 in his 11 appearances at Leopard Creek Country Club.
• Is now a total of 122 under par for his 11 appearances in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.
• From his 42 rounds in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek he has now been at par or better in 39 of them.
• The third of his four wins where he has led going into the final round. Led by ten in 2013, two in 2014 and three in 2016.
• The fourth consecutive South African winner of the Alfred Dunhill Championship. They are: Garth Mulroy (2011 – Nov 11), Charl Schwartzel (2013, 2014 and 2016) and Branden Grace (2015). (The event was not part of the 2012 European Tour Schedule).
• The eighth South African victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship. They are: Charl Schwartzel (2005, 2013, 2014 and 2016), Ernie Els (2006), Richard Sterne (2009), Garth Mulroy (2011 – Nov 11) and Branden Grace (2015).
• The 132nd South African victory in European Tour history.
• This victory extends South Africa’s record of consecutive winning years on The European Tour to 26, dating back to the 1991 season.
• This victory is the 39th South African victory in European Tour events co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour. (Since 1995 this event is the 67th between The European and Sunshine Tour).
• His 13th win as a professional and eighth in his homeland overall.
