Challenge event provides Sterne test

Last updated: 3rd December 2009

South Africa's Richard Sterne is expecting a nerve-wracking debut in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which gets under way at Sun City on Thursday.

Sterne won back-to-back events on home soil this season to finish 42nd in the Race to Dubai and would love to make it a hat-trick at a tournament he watched as a boy.

"I used to come here and watch all the time when I was younger," said Sterne.

"I saw David Frost beating Jose Maria Olazabal, Ernie Els' wins and a lot of other highlights, so this is a big occasion for me.

"The first few holes will be quite nerve-wracking, but hopefully I'll get into it and put on a good show.

"All the top South Africans have won this tournament so hopefully I can have a chance come Sunday."

Sterne's nerves should be eased by the news that the course is expected to play even easier this year, with less rough to contend with.

"The course is in great condition but it's definitely not as tough as they always set it up," Sterne added on www.nedbankgolfchallenge.com.

"The rough is not there, which is nice, so I expect the scoring to probably be a bit better. It should make for interesting golf and make it a bit more fun.

"Guys won't need to slug it out as much as usual, where you miss the fairway and you're chipping it out all the time. I think that's a good way to play this tournament, especially as it's played towards the end of the year."

Defending champion Henrik Stenson, who won by nine shots on 21 under par last year, added: "The course is quite a lot different because the rough is down.

"The wind can still swirl and play some tricks, but other than that I would expect the scoring to be a bit better given that the rough is not as severe as it was."