Els will be making his only appearance at a South African golf tournament this summer in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at the Creek in the Mpumalanga bushveld, near the Kruger Park.
The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and European Tour and played on South Africa's No1-ranked golf course.
Els won at the Creek in 2005 in what was only his second tournament following a five-month lay-off because of knee surgery.
He will be joined in the field by Sterne and other former champions - South African Charl Schwartzel, and Englishman John Bickerton.
Sterne is determined to defend his title successfully, and believes he hasn't yet come close to realising his full potential.
"It's not that easy defending a title. But I don't think I'm even close to where I can be. I've just got to go out there and let my clubs do the talking," said Sterne, who, along with Rory Sabbatini, represented South Africa at the recent World Cup of Golf in China.
The European challenge includes Ryder Cup star and nine-time European Tour champion Thomas Bjorn, who will be making his first appearance in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
The championship is the first of South Africa's four tournaments co-sanctioned with the European Tour.
It will also make South African golf history as it tees off the European Tour's 2010 Race to Dubai for the first time.
In the Race to Dubai, Els, who is always a crowd favourite on his home courses, ended 11th on the standings and will be looking to get his 2010 campaign under way in a positive fashion, with a big performance from today.
Among those who will be challenging Els and Sterne this weekend are Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Edoardo Molinari, and Englishman Robert Rock.
Cabrera is from Spain and is playing the Creek for a fourth straight year. All three previous starts have yielded top-25 finishes including a tie-for-fourth last year.
Molinari of Italy will be boosted by back-to-back victories in Japan and China where he and his brother Francesco teamed up to win the World Cup. Rock finished second at Leopard Creek last year.
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