Louis Oosthuizen is the home favourite to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge teeing off at Sun City on Thursday, but the 30-year-old South African has identified the defending champion Lee Westwood, and in particular his ability to call into service his driver at most holes, as his biggest obstacle to victory.

Oosthuizen is the golfer considered most likely to break the five-year drought in terms of a South African winner, but the world number seven is returning to the Gary Player Country Club after a year’s absence, having finished last in his only previous appearance, in 2010.

“I forgot how narrow the fairways are and how thick the kikuyu is. The rough is really thick all around the fairways and greens, because of the recent rain, so you have to drive straight or you’re going to struggle. The greens are running pure but the rain has made them a bit slow and adapting to the pace of the greens is going to be one of tomorrow’s keys,” Oosthuizen said after his pro-am round on Wednesday.

“So you have to think that Lee Westwood’s name is going to be right up there. He has an amazing record around this course, he’s a world-class player and one of the best ball-strikers in the game.

“He drives the ball so straight and he has great iron play, so he gives himself so many opportunities for birdies. He’s able to take driver on a lot of holes where the rest of us take three-wood, that’s how confident he is with that club,” Oosthuizen said.

Westwood claimed his second successive NGC title last year after weathering a great final-round charge by Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, but the Englishman could be in for an even stiffer challenge this year with both Oosthuizen and Justin Rose coming into the tournament in hot form.

Oosthuizen finished third on the European Tour order of merit and is coming off five successive top-10 finishes, but his description of the year as “frustrating” was a telling sign that the 2010 Open champion is determined to return the famous crystal globe to South Africa.

“It’s been frustrating because I feel I’ve been playing better than my finishes. I guess I’m satisfied with the year overall, but disappointed that I lost twice in playoffs. I always say I want three wins a season, I’ve got two, so to win here this weekend would end the year on a high.

“Plus, growing up, this and the SA Open were the two tournaments you really wanted your name on the trophy. You always remember watching the tournament on TV as a kid and it’s a great event,” Oosthuizen said.

Rose, born in South Africa but based in England since he was five, will also be especially motivated to win, having finished second to Trevor Immelman by just one stroke in 2007.

Charl Schwartzel is another South African favourite, but the 28-year-old seemed to talk down his chances on Wednesday after a year that was badly disrupted by a torn rib muscle in June.

“It’s never nice not playing well and you always go into the tournament with the goal of winning. But it’s been a long process coming back from that injury and I’m not expecting anything this week. If I have a good week and play the way I know I can, then I’m easily capable of winning. But it’s too early to say what’s going to happen, even though things are definitely turning,” Schwartzel said.

While Africa’s Major still has a celebratory, exhibition type feel to it and it is the end-of-year party for corporate South Africa, the rest of the field will also not want to defame their reputations.

Martin Kaymer is a former world number one, Paul Lawrie an ex-major champion who is enjoying a resurgence in his career and Nicolas Colsaerts is a rising star. All of them will be out to impress and will be dangerous outsiders for the $1.25 million first prize.

Draw – 11h10 Louis Oosthuizen (SA) & Francesco Molinari (Italy); 11h22 Garth Mulroy (SA) & Martin Kaymer (Germany); 11h34 Peter Hanson (Sweden) & Charl Schwartzel (SA); 11h46 Carl Pettersson (Sweden) & Bill Haas (USA); 11h58 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) & Paul Lawrie (Scotland); 12h10 Justin Rose (England) & Lee Westwood (England).

Charl Schwartzel was one of the earlier finishers in Friday’s weather-ruined second round of the Joburg Open, but the defending champion now faces an anxious wait to see if he will be exiting the tournament at the halfway stage.

Schwartzel struggled around the East Course for a first-round 72 and then shot a three-under-par 68 on the easier West Course on Friday in what he termed a “mental struggle”.

The Masters champion is therefore on three-under-par overall, in a tie for 56th and on the cut line. But more than half the field still have to complete their second rounds, with a dozen golfers yet to even start when thunderstorms prevented any further play being possible after 1.37pm – ironically exactly the same time as when play was halted on the first day.

Schwartzel does, however, have previous experience of battling around the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club but somehow winning. Last year he was complaining about his swing but still managed to triumph by a whopping four strokes.

“It is a mental struggle when you play like this. It’s pretty easy when things are going your way, but on days like this it becomes a mental battle. I felt I hung in well, I didn’t get down on myself. It would have been easy to lose my temper, but so early in the year, there’s no point. The only way through it is to play, and hopefully I can get into the weekend,” Schwartzel said.

While other major champions have quickly recused themselves from press conferences on days when they have struggled, the ultra-professional Schwartzel was only too happy to front up to the media and explain his struggles. With such impressive character, no wonder he doesn’t buckle under the pressure of being four behind down the closing stretch at Augusta.

The 27-year-old said it was his putting that was proving to be his biggest bugbear.

“It’s always guesswork when you come off a break and competitive golf is always different. But to get straight on to the point, my putting let me down. You’re not going to be doing very well on a course where you should be going for birdies if you have 34 putts. Today I hit 17 greens in regulation but I was just three-under, so it was not my best effort,” Schwartzel said.

The seven-time European Tour winner said it was his putting stroke that was causing him problems.

“In normal competition the greens aren’t so quick as in tournament golf and it feels like I’m hitting everything off-line. I’m not stroking the ball properly and I don’t have that rhythm you get from playing tournament golf week in, week out. And once you hit a few off-line, you start doubting yourself, which makes it worse,” Schwartzel said.

At the moment, Schwartzel is a hefty eight strokes behind leader Robert Rock, but a top-class round like the 61 he shot on Friday last year or the 63 in the first round of the 2010 event will give him a real chance of completing a hat-trick of Joburg Open wins.

“There’s still a long way to go and at least I’m hitting the ball well tee-to-green and giving myself chances. I just need like a 63 to get some momentum going. If I shoot that, I’ll be in with a chance,” Schwartzel said.