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Why Charl likes his SA Open chances

By Mike Green Last updated: 15th December 2009

Charl Schwartzel at Leopard Creek

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Charl Schwartzel didn't hang back in his pursuit of Pablo Martin in last week's Alfred Dunhill Championship, and he will try to use that momentum to finish his year in style at the South African Open Championship.

On his homeward nine, he made just one par as he flung the kitchen sink at the 23-year-old Spaniard. There were five birdies as he fired at the pins, and three bogeys as his risk and reward golf sometimes failed.

In the end, he was just one shot shy of what would have been his second win at the tournament, but there was a degree of satisfaction about a job well done.

"I put it all in there. There was a lot of confidence. I was making good putts and made a very good charge at the end," he said.

The fact that his putting has come good is almost certainly what gave him the confidence to go after the eventual winner in such a cavalier fashion.

"I've been struggling with my putting in final rounds for the last four, five months. I've been hitting the ball well like I did again in the last round. There were a couple of loose shots, but the putting was good."

It was also the clarity of his decision making which was impressive. As Martin blasted his tee-shot down the middle of the 18th, Schwartzel was scheming about how he could pressurize the youngster:

"I thought let me lay up and leave him with the need to make par on 18," he said.

"It got close there at the end. I was staring at that three-footer he had very carefully. Trying to stare it down, you might say. If you're trailing, you need to do something," he added.

While he hasn't won a tournament this year, second-place Schwartzel did enough to vault him into second place behind Dane Anders Hansen on the 2009 Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit.

Hansen's third place at the Alfred Dunhill earned him over R765,000, and Schwartzel now trails The Dane by just over R1.3-million. So victory in the SA Open and a poor finish by Hansen could see Schwartzel winning his fourth Order of Merit race.

"On the Sunshine Tour the year's not finished yet. I'm playing well and looking forward to the SA Open," he said.

Mike Green