Tournament Preview

Early on in Charl Schwartzel’s career, he realised the value of solitude in nature and the impact it has on his golf. As a young pro, to clear his head he once bought a piece of carpet offcut in Windhoek and drove into the desert to hit golf balls and find what the hustle and bustle of a normal driving range couldn’t uncover for him.

It’s hardly surprising then that Leopard Creek and the Alfred Dunhill Championship should merge into such a sweet spot as to have seen Schwartzel win a record four of these titles – one by 12 strokes – and finish second on four occasions too.

“It’s definitely one of my favourite courses, if not the favourite. For some reason Leopard Creek always seems to spark something special in my game,” says Schwartzel.

And he’s not alone. The Alfred Dunhill Championship finds perfect expression in its home at a golf course that hits like a 1-iron to the soul of all golfers.

At Leopard Creek, the relationship between golf and nature is as delicately balanced and finely tuned as a dragon fly landing on a blade of grass overhanging the majestic Crocodile River that serves as the natural border between this golf course and the Kruger National Park.

WINNING WAYS

Highlights of Ockie Strydom’s maiden DP World Tour victory at Leopard Creek in 2022.

EXPLORE THE COURSE

To try to explain the view from the 13th green (above) as the sun sets over the Crocodile River and with the vastness of the Kruger National Park beyond it is a bit like asking a professional to not just explain the technicalities of hitting the perfect draw, but also the feeling.

There are also other pockets of uniqueness around this course. The multitude of birds that gather in the trees around the 5th hole (below) in the late afternoon. That sense of being the last golfer enjoying heaven on earth while you walk the sweeping fairway of the 15th. And the beauty and terror all rolled into one of the approach shot into the treacherous 18th green.

All of it comes together perfectly during the week of the Alfred Dunhill Championship. A week when the Sunshine Tour says to the almost 490-million households worldwide who receive the television broadcast of this event, “Yes. It exists. And we have it.”

FEELING THE HEAT

The rules have been bent at the Alfred Dunhill Championship to allow players to dress more freely.

FEELING THE HEAT

The rules have been bent at the Alfred Dunhill Championship to allow players to dress more freely.

History was made on the then European Tour (now DP World Tour) at the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Championship when players were permitted to ditch the required long pants and wear shorts during competitive play. The decision was made with health and safety in mind, as temperatures were predicted to reach as high as 40deg at Leopard Creek. Tournament organisers once again gave the players and rules officials the option of wearing shorts in 2022 to make it more comfortable for them.

HE SAID IT...

Former champion Brandon Stone on playing the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.

“It’s the best place on earth – simply put. I cannot wait to get to Leopard Creek every single year. The golf course is obviously spectacular, and the setting is just as good. The energy I get from just being there in nature makes me feel a little different to any other week on Tour.”

THE BRONZE LEOPARDS

A closer look at another of Leopard Creek’s unique features.

the bronze leopards

A closer look at another of Leopard Creek’s unique features.


The bronze leopard sculptures on every tee were created by South African sculptor Dylan Lewis. From the 1st to the 18th, each sculpture reflects a moment in the day of a leopard.


It took 14 months for Lewis to cast all 18 pieces, and he spent weeks just sketching the leopard he chose for his subject in order to capture every detail and make sure he had the right measurements of a leopard’s skeleton.

And much like the golfers, Lewis fell in love with Leopard Creek itself. “I was attracted to Leopard Creek’s setting and the landscape. In many ways, golf courses lend themselves to sculpture because they are sculpted gardens. The leopard is elegant and there is also an insular nature to the leopard which attracted me,” he said.


There is a beautiful timelessness to these sculptures as they have forever captured the moments of a leopard that Lewis said he had a five-year relationship with, and which has since died. “It was very moving for me and I felt a sense of loss when he passed away. There’s the personal connection to a particular animal, and a deeper connection which came up a lot. I understand more about how animals became archetypes for our ancestors.”

Gallery below

SA STARS SET TO SHINE

A gallery of former PGA Tour, Major and Alfred Dunhill Championship winners head a strong field of Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour stars for this tournament.

SA STARS SET TO SHINE

A gallery of former PGA Tour, Major and Alfred Dunhill Championship winners head a strong field of Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour stars for this tournament.


Erik van Rooyen returns to South African fairways from 7-10 December after winning his second PGA Tour title at the World Wide Technology Championship in October.

He will be joined by the Major-winning duo of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel (above). Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion, has twice finished runner-up at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, while Schwartzel, winner of the 2011 Masters, returns as the winner of a record four Alfred Dunhill Championship titles as well as having finishing second on four occasions.

This year’s field boasts the winners of eight of the last nine editions of this prestigious tournament.

Ockie Strydom will attempt to become only the third player in Alfred Dunhill Championship history to successfully defend his title. He made his DP World Tour breakthrough with his two-stroke victory at this event last year and which enabled him to also make his debut at the Majors in 2023.

The other champions who will line up for a shot at further Alfred Dunhill Championship glory include Christiaan Bezuidenhout (below), Branden Grace and Brandon Stone. MJ Daffue and Dean Burmester add to the traditionally strong South African challenge.

KEY HOLES
Augusta National Golf Club has Amen Corner. Leopard Creek has what I am presumptuous enough to suggest should be its own Leopard’s Lair.

Holes 7, 8 and 9 are a tough stretch of holes. But it’s the par-three 7th (below) in particular that makes the hairs on the back of any professional’s neck stand up like they’ve just heard a lion roar in the night. Former champion Brandon Stone says: “The only reason it’s the toughest par three on the golf course is because it should be a par four.”

Pablo Larrazabal hit three balls into the water on the 7th the year he won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Charismatic English professional Eddie Pepperell says: “The 7th is a brilliant par three. It’s a 6-iron, and if you don’t get it right you’re going to make bogey or double-bogey”.

According to Richard Sterne: “Visually, it’s a very tough hole and extremely demanding with zero bail out to the right obviously because of the water. So a lot of guys try to play left. But your ego gets to you now and then and you think you can take it on, and then it bites you. It’s a hole that I think if you can play it in one over par for the week or even two over, you’re gaining shots on the field.”

PETRI OESCHGER/SHAUN ROY/CARL FOURIE/TYRONE WINFIELD/SUNSHINE TOUR/ALFRED DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP/GETTY IMAGES