 Ironically, the two men who dueled so magnificently for the Nedbank Golf Challenge
title last year, good friends Trevor Immelman and Justin Rose, needed eleventh hour
call-ups just to get their places in the starting line-up.
In 2008 there has been no such doubt, Immelman getting his invitation as defending
champion and Rose getting the opportunity to go one better by virtue of another consistent
year in which he consolidated his position among the golf world’s elite.
Rose and Immelman first crossed swords as teenagers in 1996 at the South African Open
in Glendower, and have gone on to face each other as tour rivals with a regularity that
has forged a friendship built on mutual respect.
Rose burst into the spotlight at the 1998 Open Championship when he finished
tied-fourth as an amateur. The 17-year old immediately turned professional, but his
elation soon turned to despair as he missed 21 consecutive cuts.
The Englishman wouldn't enjoy another Top 10 finish in a major championship for the
next five seasons, as he wandered the golfing wilderness in search of his form and his
confidence.
But Rose found both in the country of his birth in 2001 when he started the season with
two second-placed finishes. It was the first time that he felt he was again playing to the
level he expected of himself, finishing second to Adam Scott at the Dunhill Championship
and second to Mark McNulty at the South African Open.
In 2002, Rose again started well to claim the Dunhill Championship, and he built on
that momentum, winning the Sunshine Tour's Nashua Masters, the Chunichi Crowns in Japan
and the Victor Chandler British Masters on the European Tour to end the season in 37th
place on the world rankings.
But over the course of the next three seasons, the effects of his father’s death
left him in a slow freefall, dropping to 86th in the rankings by the end of 2005. "I
had a really tough time after my dad passed away," he said, "he sacrificed a lot
for my career and I owe him everything. But even though my rankings took a dip, I felt
that I really improved as a player."
It wasn't until late-2005 that he finally pulled up from a series of nose-diving
performances, finishing third in the Buick Championship and tied-third at the Funai
Classic in Orlando.
Rose went on to win the 2006 Australian Masters, and followed that up with $2.7million
in earnings in 2007, winning the Volvo Masters to claim the European Tour's Order of
Merit.
He enjoyed seven top-10 finishes, and recorded a top-12 place at all four major
championships last year, including another top-5 finish at the Masters.
The Englishman consequently arrived at Sun City bristling with confidence, as he and
Immelman stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the Gary Player Country Club.
Rose is relishing the opportunity to play again this year, due in part to the quality
of the field, but equally because of how much he enjoys the atmosphere of the event.
"First and foremost, I'm coming to Sun City to have a good time, and I think that
if I can do that, then that's what will help me play well that week. Clearly I'd love to
do well at the tournament - my family travels up to watch, and to win in front of them
would be a special moment." | 
