Grace ready for title defence

Last updated: 7th January 2013

South Africa's Branden Grace looks forward to defending his Volvo Golf Champions title in Durban this week.

Grace, who had a superb 2012 season, where he also won the Joburg and China Opens, said he wasn't daunted by what will essentially be a new experience for him.

The reality is there will be a considerable amount of attention on him, as he tries to defend a title for the first time in his career.

Grace said: "I've never defended a title before, so it's another first for me. I know there's going to be a lot of hype around the event when I get there, but that's just one of those things I will have to deal with and I'm sure I'll enjoy it."

Among some of the players who will look to dash Grace's hopes of defending his title are former major champions Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Louis Oosthuizen. International stars Paul Lawrie, José María Olazábal and Darren Clarke will also take part.

However, Grace is confident he has the ability and the maturity to compete under considerable pressure.

"I know for a fact that I'm a better player than I used to be, so I'm up for the test of trying to defend my title. It's going to be a new experience for me, so we'll see how I cope with it and hopefully I can come away with another win to start the year in style," said Grace.