Oosthuizen (5/1 Tournament Outright @ Betfred) kicked off his year by successfully defending his Africa Open title but missed out on the chance to make it back-to-back victories at the Joburg Open as his wife was about to give birth to their second child. In his absence Charl Schwartzel was a hot favourite to land that event but put on a disappointing show to miss the cut as compatriot Branden Grace took the title. But now the top two South African golfers will go head-to-head this week on The Links Course at Fancourt and they face a strong line-up of European Tour stalwarts and the tournament looks wide open.

Oosthuizen enjoyed a strong finish to last year and looked in superb nick in East London in his one outing to date in 2012 and he will be one of the players to beat on Sunday. The 2010 Open champion rose to the occasion when installed as favourite last time out and he proved his class when put under pressure towards the end of his final round. But winning two consecutive tournaments is rarely achieved and so it may be wise to look elsewhere for a winner this week.

Schwartzel is a class player and the Masters champion can be forgiven for his blip last week. He is a much better player than his two rounds suggested and there is no reason why he should not challenge for the title in the Western Cape. There is no cut this week and so he will not have that to think about and will be extremely motivated to bounce back from last week’s disappointment.

The other two big names in South African golf are also set for a run-out as Retief Goosen and Ernie Els make an appearance.

Goosen has played in the two previous events and has done well, while the Volvo Champions will be Els’ season bow (Els 15/2 Top South African). Both are now into their 40s and still have the class to win tournaments but those wins are now few and far between and they might both come in the category of ‘best watched’ this week.

One man who might have a thing or two to say is England’s Simon Dyson as he is now firmly established as one of the stars on the European Tour after a couple of wins last year and a joint-ninth place finish at the Open. The Yorkshireman has finally begun to fulfil his promise and, at 34, should be entering his prime as a golfer and he could well feature towards the business end of proceedings on Sunday (Dyson 8/5 Top Englishman).

Robert Rock finally broke his duck last year at the Italian Open and put in solid performances at both the US Open and the Open Championship. He ended the year with a top 10 finish at the Dubai World Championship and began 2012 in good style by finishing ninth at the Joburg Open last week. However he failed to make the top 10 in any other tournaments in 2011 and, while he might put in a decent couple of rounds this week, is an unlikely winner.

Padraig Harrington’s best days appear to be behind him but he continues to ply his trade in the hope that he can recapture the form that brought him three Grand Slam victories. The Irishman is constantly tinkering with his swing and it will be interesting to see if it finally pays off this week and in the rest of 2012.

Thomas Bjorn enjoyed a resurgence last year with a couple of wins and he has made it clear that he wants to make the Ryder Cup team once again and, despite odds of 33/1, could be a major player over the next few days. He is capable of shooting low rounds and, with a bit of momentum, could shock the bigger names in the field.

Tom Lewis is one for the future but qualifies for this event after winning the Portugal Masters in only his second outing on the European Tour. He will surely become a multiple winner in what should be a stellar career and it would surprise nobody to see the 20-year-old mixing it with the big boys in South Africa.

There are several potential winners in a decent line up but Dyson is tipped to take this one and set up what could be his best year as a professional with the lure of the Ryder Cup in September.