Second glance didn't throw up anything either. Neither did third.

So, as it's my duty to come up with a bet, I'm going to adopt a formulaic approach to try and dig up something worthwhile. And the good news is that it produces a bet far more appealing than it first appeared.

For starters, one useful stat is that no debutant has won this event since Mark McNulty in 1986.

Our Nedbank eraser wipes out first-timers KJ Choi, James Kingston and Robert Karlsson.

Secondly, form is key.

Looking at how the last 10 winners performed in their previous strokeplay event shows that two had won, four others had come third, another three had made the top 10 and the other, Ernie Els in 2002, had finished 13th.

We could ignore Els' 13th and say top 10 is the requirement but even if we lower it to 'must have finished in the top 15', six more players are removed.

Those being struck off this time are Luke Donald (withdrew from US Open in last start), Miguel Angel Jimenez (24th last time out), Kenny Perry (24th), Justin Rose (MC), Rory Sabbatini (29th) and Henrik Stenson (35th).

And then there were three - Sergio Garcia, Trevor Immelman and Lee Westwood.

It's also worth checking how recent was the form of these past champions. Did they come here refreshed or had they kept the clubs greased?

There is a definite trend. The last three winners and seven of the last 10 had all been in action following the completion of the US/European Tour schedules. Six had played in Asia while 1998 winner Nick Price had warmed up with a victory in his home Zimbabwe Open. As for the missing three, they were all home South African players - Els twice and Goosen once.

Of the three players left, ticks can only be put next to Garcia and Immelman. Garcia played and won the HSBC Champions Tournament in Shanghai while Immelman kept his game ticking over with a fifth in the Taiheiyo Masters in Japan. Westwood hasn't been seen since the Volvo Masters.

So is it to be Garcia at 11/4 or Immelman at 9/1?

One extra factor is the fantastic record of African players. South Africa/Zimbabwe golfers have won seven of the last 11 runnings of this event, suggesting that the 'locals' handle best the course conditions and heat of Sun City.

If you've not guessed it yet, I'm leaning towards Immelman and I'll throw in two final deciding factors.

Defending champions have an excellent recent record in this event (Price 1997-1998, Els 1999-2000, Furyk 2005-2006) so holding the title is a plus point for Immelman rather than a hindrance. Note also that he won the South African Open back-to-back in 2003-2004 so he has previous.

Secondly, the last two South African winners (Els in 2002 and Goosen in 2004) arrived in Sun City as recent major winners, the former having won at Muirfield and the latter at Shinnecock

It suggests our man might just have an extra spring in his step and a greater desire to prove his status when he's announced on the first tee as "US Masters champion Trevor Immelman".