Charl's Sun City jitters

Charl Schwartzel first joked with the media yesterday, but then he got serious as he described how he was uncomfortable playing the Gary Player Country Club layout.

Asked how he rated his chances for the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which starts at Sun City today, Schwartzel - fresh off his Alfred Dunhill Championship victory at Leopard Creek on Sunday - replied with a deadpan expression.

''Not very good. Confidence is very low. I should have won by 20 shots last week," he said, his face breaking into a wide grin.

But after that he spoke candidly about his travails on this layout.

''This course is one I don't feel comfortable on. I never have.

''That's not to say that I won't play well. I have my own plan on how to play it and if I play the same as I did last week then I should definitely have a chance come Sunday," he said.

His problem - commonly experienced by many high handicappers - is that this layout penalises right-handed faders, golfers who shape the ball left-to-right, which creates too much run on the several fairways here that also slope left to right.

''This course has so many holes where you can't even hit the fairway," he said, explaining that on some holes in Tuesday's pro-am he pitched the ball in the left rough and it ended in the right rough.

''In a way it's a little bit silly. It's an uncomfortable golf course . Most of the time you'll see me hit irons off the tee just to keep the ball in play . but I'll be hitting two clubs more than most guys into the greens."

And the greens, which contain several levels, are difficult too, Schwartzel said.

"With the greens being so sectional you've got five metres of area to pitch it in. If you're coming out of the semi-rough you sometimes can't stop it. It's a very finicky golf course."

Schwartzel, who came in second last year, is not the only golfer here having the handicap of a fade - another is defending champion Martin Kaymer, a past world No1.

''There are four or five holes where the fairway slopes from left to right. You are supposed to draw the ball into that slope, but I usually fade the ball, so I have to aim left of the fairway .

''I know the golf course okay, but here I have to work a little bit more."

The German spoke about how unique he found this tournament, now part of the European Tour and an expanded field of 30 players, but he spoke with shock about his safari last weekend when he watched a lion bring down its prey.

''It was brutal. Everybody thinks they want to see a lion kill an animal and I actually saw it. The noises of the animal and brutality . I was a vegetarian that night."

Ernie Els, a three-time victor here, whose last win was in 2002, is quietly confident, saying he believes he still has another Major victory in him.

The key, he said, would be managing his schedule carefully.

But the favourite is Swedish world No3 Henrik Stenson, the order-of-merit victor in Europe and the US, whose biggest concern is that his injured wrist will hold out.

The first tee-off is at 10.10am.