Charl Schwartzel was in top form in Wednesday’s pro-am before the Volvo Golf Champions event, sending a message out to his rivals by shooting a 6-under-par 67.
Schwartzel is the highest ranked golfer in the 35-man exclusive field at ninth in the world, but missed the cut in last week’s Joburg Open after struggling with his putter. He had no such problems yesterday though.
"Last week, I missed the cut but I played decently, I just couldn't get the ball in the hole. I only missed four greens in 36 holes and my game feels even better now. I just hope the putts go in. I made some nice putts today," Schwartzel said.
"I like tough courses. Last week and at the Africa Open, it just became a putting contest, whoever putted the best wins. But there's a lot more to it here."
"The surfaces of the green are so good, there's not much bounce so if the putt is on-line, it's in. But the layout of the greens is pretty severe, there are some elephants buried under some of them and you need to avoid those areas.
"You need to know the course very well, especially the greens, before you hit your approach shots. The key is knowing what you're doing before you hit your approach and you're not going to get that from one practice round. There are some really big slopes and they can work for you, but they can also quickly bite you," Schwartzel warned.
