Payet: this will be big Challenge
Winning here was a life-changing moment, says Grace. FAST GREENS, TRICKY PIN POSITIONS
As dedicated as the Gary Player Country Club groundskeepers are in preparing one of the greatest courses in the country for the Nedbank Golf Challenge, there is little they can do about the weather, and the lack of rain in the Pilanesberg means the rough is not going to be as severe as it often is for “Africa’s Major”.
But, as tournament director Ken Payet said, there are other ways to make the Gary Player Country Club a major test, and the 72 golfers who will tee up tomorrow morning in the penultimate event of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai will be faced with fast greens and fairways, but also tricky pin positions.
“As we stand now I’m happy with where we are in terms of our course preparation. Now it’s all about attention to detail as we seek to get the small consistencies right. We do everything we can throughout the year and then rely on Mother Nature to do her part. Sometimes she does, and sometimes it falls a little short in terms of the rain we wanted.
“The rough is not as severe as in past years, but fortunately this golf course doesn’t rely on rough as its only defence. We also have its length and the ability to tuck the pins in the corners of these greens. And then green-speed is also something we can focus on. But it will be a nice fast-playing golf course, which is how the professionals like it,” Payet said.
While many of Europe’s top golfers have skipped the prestigious Rolex Series event – none of the top seven in the Race to Dubai are participating – it is almost compulsory for any South African who qualifies to have a go at winning the famous crystal ball trophy. And there are 12 of them, led by defending champion Branden Grace.
“It was great, obviously one of those moments in your career you’ll never forget, almost a life-changing moment, winning South Africa’s biggest event, winning a tournament you grew up watching; and you see some legendary names on the trophy as well, it was great.
“You kind of remember where you made those crucial putts and where you made those crucial shots and things like that,” Grace said yesterday.
“It’s never easy to defend a title, but I’ve done it before in Qatar in 2016. The thing about this place is you have to keep it in the fairways. The greens are pretty small, as well. So if you can give yourself chances on the fairways getting to the greens, then you’re going to do pretty well out here.”