Charl Schwartzel has confirmed that he will tee it up in the upcoming Vodacom Championship at Pretoria Country Club in a bid to join Mark McNulty as the only winners of three successive Sunshine Tour Order of Merit titles.
Schwartzel currently tops the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit with just over R1,4-million in earnings from five tournaments.
Schwartzel’s victory in last year’s event at Pretoria Country Club saw him successfully defend his Order of Merit title, and he became the first player since John Bland in the 1990 and 1991 seasons to do so.
With that he also joined an illustrious list of multiple Order of Merit champions, including Gary Player, Allan Henning, John Bland, Tony Johnstone, Ernie Els and McNulty.
But a third successive money list title will place Schwartzel alongside McNulty in the record books of South African professional golf.
Only McNulty has won three straight Sunshine Tour Order of Merit titles in the 1985, 1986 and 1987 seasons.
Agent Mark Bell, speaking on behalf of Schwartzel, who is competing in this week’s Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour, confirmed that while the Order of Merit is key for Schwartzel, the young star is also relishing the opportunity of just being able to compete in South Africa on a regular basis while maintaining his commitments on the European Tour.
”Charl is very happy to be coming back to South Africa. He believes strongly in supporting local golf and supporting a tournament like the Vodacom Championship considering how much Vodacom does for golf in this country. He also likes the golf course and returns with the confidence of having won there before,” Bell said.
The February 15 to 18 Vodacom Championship will be Schwartzel’s last opportunity to secure a third Order of Merit title as it will be his final tournament on the 2006/07 Sunshine Tour.
Schwartzel will not be playing in the season-ending Telkom PGA Championship a week later.
Considering that Schwartzel is currently R215 687 ahead of second-placed Andrew McLardy, R238 153 ahead of third-placed Hennie Otto and R312 510 ahead of fourth-placed Darren Fichardt on the money list, he will need a strong finish — if not a victory — in the R2,2-million Vodacom Championship so as to avoid being overtaken by any of the others a week later. — Sapa