King Louis would be a popular champion

He had spent years dreaming of playing in the Nedbank Golf Challenge. He recalled first watching the tournament when he was 19. Now he has won "Africa's Major" at the age of 34 by an impressive six shots.

Swede Alex Noren's victory at Sun City last year was a fairytale. Except for many South African golf fans, it felt like the glass golf shoe was on the wrong foot.

It is now the longest span in the history of the Nedbank Golf Challenge without a South African victory. Trevor Immelman was the last South African to lift the trophy in 2007.

Since then, Tim Clark and Charl Schwartzel have finished runner-up to what has been a raft of foreign winners at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, Rustenburg. And with the tournament now part of the exclusive Rolex Series, the challenge from the European Tour is always a strong one.

That's not to say the Sun City faithful do not embrace their Nedbank Golf Challenge champions wherever they hail from.

The great allure of this tournament, apart from the unrivalled player hospitality and the obvious financial reward, is that international golfers are made to feel so welcome by the South African fans.

German legend Bernhard Langer was among the first to climb into their hearts and came close to securing the keys to Rustenburg as he supported the tournament in a challenging political climate in the 80s.

Zimbabwean Nick Price was "Durban-born" every time he won at Sun City, and Zimbabwean to the rest of the world.

And Jim Furyk, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer have all been warmly welcomed onto the 18th green to receive the winner's cheque.

Ernie Els is South Africa's most successful golfer in the history of the Nedbank Golf Challenge. But with his dominance of this event now a part of its glorious history, local golf fans are looking for his successor.

If there is another golfer who resonates as much with the South African golf fan as Els then it's Louis Oosthuizen.

Oosthuizen's laid-back nature and effortless swing coupled with his down-to-earth approach to his stardom would make him the perfect fit in many minds to break the South African drought in this tournament.

The relaxed nature of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and the ability to have his family with him and take in the odd waterslide, adds to the sense that this should be a perfect week for him.

But despite having won at the Gary Player Country Club early in his career in the 2007 Dimension Data Pro-Am, Oosthuizen has yet to discover his best form in the Nedbank Golf Challenge. He has to date been unable to shoot lower than 66 in the tournament, but then again the course has never been one to consistently produce very low scoring.

His best finish here is fourth in 2012, and this will be his seventh appearance.

It took Els exactly this number of appearances before he won his first Nedbank Golf Challenge title in 1999 on his eighth attempt.

There is no doubt Oosthuizen would be a popular champion. But should it be a foreign champion again, the fans will be gracious.

As was the young South African woman on the 18th grandstand in 1996, when Els and Colin Montgomerie of Scotland went into a playoff.

"Who are you shouting for?" asked the elderly Scottish gentleman who took up a seat next to her in the VIP area.

"Ernie of course. I've heard Monty is pretty mean. He wants even the birds to keep quiet when he plays."

"Yes, he can be difficult at times," added the old man.

"And you?" she asked.

"Oh, I'll be shouting for Colin."

"Why on earth?" she asked.

"He's my son."

Montgomerie won that year.

The hadedas cheered.