Ken Borland

Englishman Danny Willett’s impressive triumph at the Nedbank Golf Challenge over the weekend means it is now seven years since a South African won the prestigious title at Sun City, and tournament director Alastair Roper has an interesting theory why.

Trevor Immelman won the 2007 Nedbank Golf Challenge by one stroke from Justin Rose but since then the best South African finishes have been runners-up slots for Tim Clark (2010) and Charl Schwartzel (2012).

This year it was a trio of Englishmen – Willett, Ross Fisher and Luke Donald – who dominated at the Gary Player Country Club.

Sun City is obviously one of the favourite tourist destinations of South Africans and, being at the end of the year, there is a general holiday vibe around the complex. The South Africans in the field inevitably have an entourage of friends and family joining them at the tournament.

“It’s a pity none of the South Africans showed up, it would have been really nice if Charl or Louis [Oosthuizen] had been up there with the Englishmen on Sunday. Just generally, in the last 18 months/two years, South African performances on the world tours have been sub-standard, so it’s partly a form thing that none have won at Sun City.

“Maybe it’s just a lean period, but something else bothers me and that is that there may be too many distractions for the South African golfers. I remember for many years [8] Ernie Els was trying to win here and it bothered me the number of distractions he had.

“At the South African Open or the Alfred Dunhill, there’s not as much of a demand on their time. Here, all their friends want to be with them and they’re asking for tickets, for access and when they can have dinner together. A guy like Willett was here with his caddy, his wife and maybe one friend,” Roper told The Citizen on Monday.

Roper said the increase in the size of the field from 12 to 30 had led to a similar rise in interest in the tournament.

“I was always the biggest skeptic about going to 30, I was very confident that 12 was the right way to go. But last year it surprised me what a positive reaction we had from the sponsors and we’re getting that same feeling again. More players and more golf is what they want to see.”

That has translated into the number of corporate hospitality suites – the lifeblood of the tournament – rising to 35 and including a diversity of sponsors.

“We want a demand for those facilities, that’s key to the success of the tournament, it’s built around hospitality, and those sponsors continue to be happy. We’ve had more this year in terms of numbers of sponsors and it’s been a whole different bunch of sponsors as well,” Roper said.

The tournament director said there had been little change in the number of spectators attending the event, with just over 60 000 coming over the four days, while the reach of the Nedbank Golf Challenge on television – showcasing Sun City as a tourism destination – continues to grow.

Bryan, back in South Africa and giving back to the Nyanga community for Mandela Day, have you had time to reflect on the successes of the last few months?

It’s not ideal being outside of South Africa and I’m unbelievably proud to call myself South African. Until you leave these shores, you never know what you’re missing, but I’m very happy where I am in France. The language is tough and sometimes if they talk too fast then you lose it, but luckily there are a lot of internationals at Toulon. It’s taught me to become a lot more independent. Driving on the right-hand side of the road takes some getting used to and I’ve stalled a couple of times! But staying on the French Riviera is pretty positive and a happy player is an in-form player.

It was a pretty special end to the season in France after I was a bit frustrated at the beginning. I was injured after the Rugby Championship, four months out, and then I was injured again on the end-of-year tour for another two weeks. So to come back and play a part in the finals was very special.

It was fantastic playing alongside Jonny Wilkinson and seeing the way he bowed out, there was no better way to end his career.

Those successes must fill you with a lot of confidence for the season ahead?

We have a lot to build on but there’s been a change in format in the Heineken Cup plus the Top 14 is 28 games against tough opposition every week. I went over to France to win trophies and I didn’t think it would happen as quickly as it did. So the foundation has been laid, I have a couple of years left with Toulon and I hope to contribute to even more trophies.

Was it a tough challenge coming to France and playing in those finals in your first season over there?

Experience plays a big part. I’ve played 90-odd Tests, so you learn how to bring something else out on the big occasions. Plus I had 11 amazing seasons in South Africa, good and bad times, and winning trophies from the Vodacom Cup to Currie Cup, SuperRugby and the Tri-Nations.

So I was happy to experience something different in France, I didn’t want to get stuck in a rut, you want to learn how to deal with new environments and challenges.

What are your future ambitions in terms of South Africa?

I hope to play more than a hundred Tests for the Springboks, play international rugby for another year or two. There are those elusive couple of tries for the world record and I’d love to achieve 100 caps. To be part of the 2015 World Cup is the short-term goal. It has without a doubt been the proudest moments of my career to pull that jersey over my head, but a lot still has to happen for me to reach those landmarks. But I’m going to push myself harder and further.

What’s the mood like in the Springbok camp at the moment?

Heyneke Meyer and his team are working towards something special. There are very exciting youngsters in the team and old heads who know the ropes. I hope to contribute to that journey, there were those two losses to New Zealand last year and we hope to rectify that in the Rugby Championship.

This Springbok side is heading towards one of the best I’ve been involved with, the foundation has been laid and a great atmosphere has been created. This is one of the happiest teams I’ve been involved with, thanks to Heyneke Meyer, who has put the onus on the individual.

2009 was a phenomenal year and we’re growing ever closer to that with a mix of the older guys and the newer combinations. We’re definitely heading the right way, we can only get better because the competition for places is high. You’re not sure of getting your place back these days if you sit out.

Willie le Roux was sensational in the June Tests, what’s it like playing next to him?

Willie is very exciting. Three years ago we played against him at Western Province when he was playing for Boland and it’s fantastic how he has embraced his opportunity with the Cheetahs. Cornal Hendricks too, came from Sevens and has had a huge impact with the Cheetahs.

Willie is a fantastic playmaker, probably up there with the best one or two fullbacks in the world. Hopefully I can be at the end of a few more of his final passes!

What are your future goals with Toulon?

After 11 seasons in South Africa which were the best times of my life, I want to leave the Toulon jersey in a better shape than I found it. I want to give my most for Toulon and South Africa.

How is your relationship with Mourad Boudjellal?

Mourad must take a lot of the credit for our success. He has put a lot of money into Toulon, he’s a staunch Toulon rugby man and he backed players even though people thought they were at the end of their careers. He took Toulon up from the second division with players like Tana Umaga, Victor Matfield, George Gregan and Andrew Mehrtens and now he’s developed a side of world-beaters.

To be double champions is pretty special and he must take credit for that, without him it would not have happened.

Mourad does not speak that much English so we haven’t had many conversations, but he’s as passionate as you can get about rugby. He does the Pilou Pilou for us when things go well.

There was talk about you representing South Africa at the Commonwealth Games Sevens, what happened there?

I’m very disappointed I won’t be going to the Commonwealth Games, but I understand that I am contracted to Toulon and the Commonwealth Games are not in the Test window. But it would have been fantastic to be part of that.

I went to a couple of training sessions with the Springbok Sevens and I could see their passion and enthusiasm. I’m firmly behind them and they have more than enough talent to do very well.

Overnight leaders Thomas Aiken and Justin Walters were overtaken by charging fellow South African George Coetzee, who sealed a long-awaited maiden European Tour victory with his three-shot triumph at the Joburg Open on Sunday.

The first nine holes at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s East Course were the key for Coetzee as he started the day four strokes behind Aiken and Walters, who began the final day on 17-under-par. The 27-year-old also had to contend with South Korea’s Jin Jeong on 15-under, Finland’s Roope Kakko on -14, and Scotsman Alastair Forsyth, who was level with him on 13-under-par.

Coetzee birdied the short par-five first hole and picked up further strokes on the par-four fourth and the two par-fives on the sixth and eighth.

“I knew I had to play well and the plan was to be four-under on the front nine. I got that and then thought that anything else from there would be a bonus. Two more birdies on the back nine was good enough. But if I had not gone four-under on the front nine, then I wouldn’t be sitting here,” Coetzee said at the final press conference with the crystal trophy beside him.

Having been a nearly man for so long on the European Tour with eight top-three finishes in the last three years, Coetzee shocked many when he showed no great relief at notching his breakthrough victory.

“Sitting here with the trophy is not that important, playing your best out there on the course is what matters. It’s the mindset you’ve got to have otherwise winning becomes too important.

“When I won the Telkom PGA Championship in 2011, I said it was bloody hard to achieve which actually made it very hard for myself to win again. It actually wasn’t that difficult and a couple of tournaments I’ve lost in, I actually played better than I did today,” Coetzee said.

But any inspector of Coetzee’s faultless scorecard, a brilliant six-under-par 66 to win by three after being four behind, will find it very hard to believe the Pretoria golfer did not play very well indeed.

“I just kept believing and tried to stay focused. I told myself Thomas and Justin were making birdies, so I had to keep positive and stay aggressive. I kept telling myself that anything on the greens could go in for birdie. In my last three events, I’ve had one or two bogey-free rounds in each of them, so I’m comfortable doing that. There’s a lot less to handle if you’re doing that,” he said.

It was always going to be a stiff ask overtaking both Aiken and Walters, but Coetzee was helped by his compatriots both shooting over-par on the final day.

It’s become run-of-the-mill for Aiken to shoot low on the East Course in recent years, but, after playing the first seven holes in one-under, his game started to go down the drain, possibly due to the scoreboard pressure Coetzee was exerting with his thrilling charge.

Some wonkiness off the tee and some really poor iron play were the obvious problems, leading to five bogeys from the eighth hole; birdies at 14 and 18 did not stem the bleeding as Aiken finished in a tie for fifth on 15-under after a 74.

It is one of just five over-par rounds Aiken has played in the 26 times he has gone around Royal Johannesburg and Kensington in the Joburg Open and, having been the favourite of many to win the title, he didn’t even manage to claim one of the automatic places in the British Open that were up for grabs.

Walters, the USA-based 33-year-old, finished in the three-man group tied for second on 16-under, the par-fives on the eighth and 18th proving the thorn in his side as he bogeyed both of them.

On the last tee-box, he was still in the running, needing to eagle the 504-metre par-five, just as he did on the third day, to force a playoff with Coetzee. But his tee-shot found the second fairway bunker down the right and his second, from the up-slope, was hopelessly short of the green.

One of the rounds of the day came from the 22-year-old Englishman Tyrell Hatton, who matched Coetzee with a 66 that lifted him into a share of second place, the European Tour rookie earning € 101,097, the biggest cheque of his fledgling career.

Jeong, the Australian-based winner of the Perth International towards the end of last year, was very much in contention after successive birdies on the seventh and eighth holes lifted him to 16-under, but the putter deserted him on the back nine and he could only add one more birdie, despite hitting the ball close to the flag several times.

But the real momentum was with Coetzee and he proved unstoppable, adding birdies on the par-four 10th and 15th holes.

He admitted the three on the 15th was the product of some great good fortune as he pulled his drive towards the water, but his ball hit a tree and bounced back into the fairway, from where he found the green and then the cup.

The calm and methodical way in which Coetzee seized victory on Sunday mirrors his approach to his career.

“I will take it one step at a time and just focus on the next box I want to tick. Winning a co-sanctioned event was kind of the next step – as a youngster I always said I wanted to win the junior club champs, the club medal, the senior club champs, a professional event, a Sunshine Tour winter tournament, a big Sunshine Tour event and then one of the co-sanctioned ones.”

Asked what the next box he wants to tick is, Coetzee said “It’s my box, not yours” as he preferred not to make his goals public.

There is no doubting Coetzee’s force of will, he was well-nigh unstoppable on his march to victory on Sunday and the floodgates could well open now for the highly-talented South African.

Peter Siddle would like nothing better than to chop through South Africa's top-order.

Fast bowler Peter Siddle was a competitive woodchopper at school in Gippsland, the large rural area east of Melbourne, a quintessentially Australian pursuit that one can safely say does not feature in the extramural activities of many South African schools.

His parents gave him his first axe when he was just two years old and, although he is no longer a woodchopper, Siddle brings many of the strengths he learnt from those days into Australia’s favourite summer sport.

He goes at batsmen with the same aggression, he is indefatigable and, despite being a lean machine who has converted to a vegan diet, has considerable strength and stamina.

And the 29-year-old has plenty of character too: His tussles with the South African batsmen in the summer of 2008/9 were epic viewing and the Wanderers crowd chanting “Siddle is … a wanker” remain fresh in the memory. Apart from his undoubted qualities as a bowler, there is something of the pantomime villain about Siddle, who is a most likeable fellow off the field.

“I think we’re similar to the South Africans in that we do play aggressively. Intimidation can work against anyone, we’re fortunate to have someone like Mitchell Johnson, and at those speeds, batting is hard work whatever the conditions,” Siddle says.

Siddle will be one of the star attractions of the thrilling late summer that lies ahead, but, having played 51 Tests now, he is a clever bowler these days. He has erred in the past by bowling too short too often, but Siddle now tends to keep the ball full and straight and uses a swift, well-directed bouncer as a nasty surprise.

Australia’s slide began after that 2008/9 home and away series against South Africa and a couple of coaches have paid the price for their indifferent form. A 5-0 whitewash of England suggests they may have turned the corner, but the opposition did throw in the towel in feeble fashion and South Africa at home should provide a real test of their new order under Darren Lehmann and Michael Clarke.

They certainly seem a more settled outfit.

“As a whole, the team is a lot more suited to our plans now. We’ve come a long way, with a couple of personnel changes, we’ve got back to a couple of older boys in the bowling attack. The Ashes showed how far we’ve come,” Siddle says.

“We need to stay a lot more patient, with both bat and ball. We’ve bowled very consistently as a group, Nathan Lyon has done so well at the other end and the three quicks have been able to bowl fast, short spells.”

Siddle chuckles at the suggestion that the English batsmen were soft and says the Australians know the South African batting line-up is a formidable one, but plans have been set in place.

“We know it’s going to be a tough series, we’re going to have to be consistent over four or five days, building pressure and not letting them get away with partnerships.

“It makes us a bit more happy that Jacques Kallis won’t be there because his record speaks for itself. He’s one of the greats and, although it’s disappointing not to play against him, it’s a nice feeling not having to bowl at him!

“But there are still plenty of others to take his place and we’re going to have to work hard, South Africa are number one for a reason. Like Faf du Plessis, who gave us a really tough day in Adelaide 18 months ago. That showed the character of the player, he enjoys the challenge. But we have a bit more understanding of him now and I’ve no doubt we have good plans to bowl to him,” Siddle says.

Siddle said talk that South African pitches were different to those they were used to Australia was wide of the mark.

“The Gabba, Melbourne to an extent and Hobart are all very similar to here with the ball moving around. But it’s still about bowling the right line and length and I think we’ve achieved that in the last six months,” he says.

The eater of 15 bananas a day is famous for the tight line he employs just outside off stump, with the occasional mean delivery banged in [he famously hit Gautam Gambhir on the head with his first ball in Test cricket], and seems to thrive on the hard, unglamorous work of Test bowling.

His batting has also improved markedly and last March he became the first number nine batsman in Test history to score a half-century in each innings of a Test, against India on a turning track in Delhi.

The Victorian who took a hat-trick against England on his 26^th birthday is the archetypal determined Aussie and the three-Test series is definitely the better for having him in it.