South African Successes    
Four days with David Leadbetter seem to have put Lee Westwood right back in the swing of things. It should not be too surprising after his two wins in the second half of last year, but this is very early season and Lee has never been the fastest of starters.Things may well be different this season because he is in great form already and his game is way ahead of where it normally is in January.

A top 50 place in the world rankings before the cut-off point for the US Masters in April now looks a distinct possibility and I’m prepared to wager a few bob that he will be accompanying Darren Clarke to Augusta this year again.

It’s always a pleasure to visit South Africa, but to see quite a few of our guys in good form was a bonus. Mark Foster didn’t quite hang on to his title, but must have been heartened after the surgery he has had on his game while his Worksop chum Westwood added a top-10 to his CV.

But for me the performance of the week at the dunhill championship was Stuart Manley’s tied 16th.  The Welshman led the qualifiers in the struggle for one of the four spots available and then finished the main event inside the top 20.  It augurs well.