Charl Schwartzel’s two wins at the end of last season ensured one thing – Louis Oosthuizen would come flying out of the traps this year.

And so it came to pass in South African where the 2010 Open champion came from five shots back to win the Volvo Golf Champions at Durban Country Club.

Louis was a miserly 5-1 at the start of the last round, but the bookies knew best and he eventually made them look quite generous in forcing a one-shot win.

There are so many echoes of Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke sparking off one another with Charl and Louis. Theirs too is a friendship that will push them towards the game’s greatest prizes and watch out for the pair of them when the majors are being distributed this year.

Defending champion Branden Grace by no means disgraced himself by finishing seventh while Jeev Milkha Singh gave a hint of what might be this year, coming home 16th just ahead of Darren who will be keen to keep his improving form on the ascendancy now that Paul McGinley has become the first Irishman to make the Ryder Cup captaincy.

Darren has committed himself to concentrating purely on his playing activities for the next two years and I for one will not back against him making the team for Gleneagles.

The Tour heads to Abu Dhabi this week where ISM has a very strong representation in an equally strong field.