Quote: "There can be no really first class golf course without good material to work with. The best material is a sandy loam in gentle undulation, breaking into hillocks in a few places. Securing such land is really more than half the battle. Having such material at hand to work upon, the completion of an ideal course becomes a matter of experience, gardening and mathematics." - C.B. MACDONALD International News Steve Stricker proved his tournament winning credentials once again at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions en route to a four stroke victory over Scotland’s Martin Laird. However, it was not as easy as it may have looked when some sloppy play to begin the round had seen his lead evaporate to just a single shot. But Stricker is a seasoned competitor, and few have been in greater tournament winning form than him the previous four seasons where he has now picked up eight PGA Tour titles, and this showed as he composed himself and got the job done coming home to eventually win comfortably. It is his fourth straight top ten at the Plantations Course in Kapalua, and makes up for last year’s fourth place finish having shared the 54 hole lead. It’s therefore the perfect start to the year for Stricker who found himself atop the FedEx Cup rankings, somewhere he will no doubt hope to stay come the end of the season. He climbed one place to fifth on the first World Golf Ranking of the year to remain the game’s top ranked American. Louis Oosthuizen made it double delight in East London and got 2012 off to the perfect start when he defended the Africa Open title he won a year ago. Under some pressure from compatriot Tjaart Van der Walt, who was looking to pick up his first professional victory, the 2010 Open Champion moved up another gear over the final few holes to eventually edge out his less experienced challenger. The turning point proved to be the 17th where a good approach yielded a birdie for Oosthuizen while his playing partner carded a disappointing bogey to fall two shots behind heading up the last. All that was left was for the champion elect to nurse it down the last, and a solid par proved enough for him to take the title. This is his fourth win on the European Tour, and saw him climb 14 places on the Ranking into Nº 26. Australian Scott Arnold picked up the first professional win of his career at the Victorian Open having held off the title charge of compatriot Kurt Barnes at the Spring Valley Golf Club on the Sunday. Arnold began the round tied for the lead with a three under par round of 68 proved enough to take the trophy with Barnes breathing down his neck all the way. With this first win Arnold now finds himself 188 places better off on the Ranking, and firmly inside the top 500 at Nº 427. Johnson Wagner won his third PGA Tour title at the Sony Open in Hawaii, with a final round of 67, and to claim a two-shot victory over four players who all tied for second place. They were Carl Petterson, Sean O'Hair and Harrison Frazar, all of which matched Wagner's 67 on the day, plus Charles Howell-III, who managed only a one-under-par 69. Wagner jumped into the World Top 100 for the first time in his career with a 106 spot rise to Nº 92. Branden Grace, 23 year old graduate from the recent European Tour Qualifying School, won the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club with a final round of 72 for a 17-under-par total. The South African finished was one ahead of Jamie Elson who almost snatched a first victory with a second 63 of the week including a 30 foot eagle putt at the 72nd hole. Grace climbs 94 places in the Ranking to Nº 164. Mark Wilson weathered strong winds, fading light and a charging pack to pick up the fifth PGA Tour win of his career at the Humana Challenge. He may have had to return to the course first thing on the Sunday to finish off his third round after heavy gusts had damaged the course and halted play the day before. However, Wilson remained unperturbed to polish off his penultimate round and post a three under par Sunday to win by a stroke. Faced with a ten footer for birdie and the win at the last, the Wisconsin native still sporting short sleeves as the light faded and temperature dropped, rolled in the putt and took the trophy. The win not only adds to his career trophy haul, it proves his credentials as one of the Tour’s fastest starters, with all his victories coming before mid-March. This backs up his two wins in the opening few weeks of 2011, and sees him climb 17 places on Ranking to 40th place. Branden Grace picked up his second win in two weeks at the Volvo Golf Champions event at Fancourt and in doing so overcame a shaky start to Sunday’s final round as well as two of his country’s finest golfing exports. The young South African started the day tied for the lead with Belgian bomber Nicolas Colsaerts, but with both struggling to find their form from the previous three rounds, a number of contenders burst from the pack – namely, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els. They would both post low numbers ahead of Grace, but a strong back nine from the winner of the Joburg Open the week before put him back into contention and a par at the last meant a three way play off. Grace remained undaunted by his Major competition heading into extra holes, and proceeded to find both the fairway and then the green in two while his playing partners floundered. Two putts later he had a birdie and his second European Tour title in two weeks, and a place inside the World’s Top 100 after a rise of 72 places to Nº 92.