Defending champion Charl Schwartzel says Leopard Creek Country Club feels like home and insists he cannot wait to begin his bid for a fifth Alfred Dunhill Championship title.
The 32 year old won this event in the 2005, 2013, 2014 and 2016 seasons and the South African is looking forward to getting back out on course as the 2017 European Tour campaign gets under way.
Schwartzel said: "This definitely feels like home. This is a tournament that has been really good to me over the years and it’s a tournament I look forward to coming to every year.
"There are a couple places I go to where I feel very much relaxed and I think the whole setting is something very different to what we have anywhere else in the world or any other tournament we play. I think every little aspect of that plays a part in just how I feel.
"On top of that I’ve had such great success and it makes me feel even more in touch with Leopard Creek and the Dunhill.
"Every year I come back after winning or doing well it adds quite a lot of pressure because everyone talks about it.
"From my side I just want to get going. I know once I’m out there I can do my thing and I look forward to it, I really do."
This is a tournament that has been really good to me over the years and it’s a tournament I look forward to coming to every year - Charl Schwartzel
Schwartzel will begin his opening round at 12.30 on Thursday, and the 11-time European Tour winner knows what to expect from the course.
He added: "This golf course doesn’t let up. The course requires you to play really clever, take the shots on when it’s necessary and there are a lot of holes that you don’t take on.
"You’ve got to respect it, and there are enough holes to make birdies, but good quality iron shots around this course with good distance control will take you a long way."
Schwartzel's countryman Brandon Stone is relaxed heading into his final event of the calendar year and his first of the 2017 season.
Stone said: "To get a win this week is obviously the goal but at the same time I just want to play some decent golf to finish the year.
"I don’t think I could be more relaxed for a tournament than I am this week. Obviously I love playing here, the game feels good and I’ve got my family and my team here this week, which is quite nice.
"I think it’s a great way to start a season and great way to finish the year, to be in the frame of mind and the space that I’m in at this moment."
Also in the field is Northern Irishman Darren Clarke. The 2011 Open Championship winner holds the course in high esteem but knows it will not be easy this week.
Clarke said: "The golf course is spectacular. The condition of it - the only other one you can compare it to is Augusta really.
"It's pristine, the greens are wonderful, the whole layout of it is tough and then you put the 40 degrees heat on top of that."
