Sunshine Tour star Daniel van Tonder will tee off alongside defending champion Pablo Larrazabal at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Thursday.
Van Tonder, who’s already won four times on the Sunshine Tour this year, has been paired with the Spaniard and Austrian Matthias Schwab for the opening two rounds at Leopard Creek.
With high temperatures once again expected in the Lowveld, tee-off times have been scheduled for as early as 6:20am on Thursday with the trio getting under way on the 10th hole at 7am.
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The 29-year-old Van Tonder’s recent success has created a great deal of expectation for him to deliver the same spectacular performances among Europe’s best golfers.
Following a disappointing T76 finish at last week’s Joburg Open, Van Tonder’s battle with Larrazabal on Thursday and Friday could prove to be an interesting little matchup to watch.
Some of the other exciting pairings include Compleat Golfer’s playing editor, Brandon Stone, competing in a group with the two Spaniards, Adrian Otaegui and Adri Arnaus.
Otaegui claimed victory at the Scottish Championship last month and has been quite consistent in performance since the European Tour’s restart.
George Coetzee and Wilco Nienaber will play together in a group before the weekend’s action with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre also part of the three-ball.
Nienaber will be hoping to go one better this week after finishing as runner-up at the Joburg Open this past Sunday, while Coetzee will make his first appearance since the BMW PGA Championship at the start of October.
Last week’s winner, Joachim B Hansen, will carry a lot of confidence into Leopard Creek this week and has been paired with England’s Eddie Pepperell and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
They will be part of the afternoon group of players and will tee off at the first hole at 12:10pm.
All of the action can be followed live on SuperSport Golf (213) from 12pm on Thursday.
