The new Black Knight?

This time two years ago the golf world was salivating at the prospect of 'The Big Five' doing battle over the course of the coming season.

Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Retief and Vijay going head to head in the four Majors and beyond was laced with mouthwatering,
fascinating potential. But it flopped, rather badly and rather embarrassingly.

Save for the 'Shoot-out at Doral' at no point did they come down the stretch together in a stellar event. And after the golfing year of 2006 in which Woods turned up the heat once again, now we must look for a new set of challengers to him.

Perhaps history can point us in the right direction. From where, for instance, did the rivals emerge to test the last man to dominate the game in such a fashion?

That player was of course Jack Nicklaus, the possessor of the record haul of18 Major titles which so motivates Tiger.
His number one challenger was Arnold Palmer, a fellow American who played the game with (relatively speaking) reckless abandon, was loved by the galleries, had his own group of devoted fans and who won more affection than Jack if not more titles. Oh, and they weren't great friends at the peak of their rivalry.

If Phil Mickelson can pick up another couple of Majors, he will fit this description rather eerily. Much depends on whether he can overcome his US Open collapse, but for now, Mickelson and his Philharmonic can be Arnie and his Army.

Next, who can mimic the efforts of Lee Trevino, the flamboyant, Spanish-speaking streetfighter who infuriated his playing partners?

Step forward, please, Sergio Garcia.

Finally, who can play the part of Gary Player? A diminutive South African relatively short off the tee but who was armed with a deadly short game, an iron will to win and just as friendly a demeanour as Palmer.

Exactly such a player is in our midst and his name is Trevor Immelman.

Immelman has been one of those players whose name has been on the lips of those supposedly 'in the know' for quite some time. As many as five years in fact.

Ahead of the 2004 season this observer tipped him to win a Major, the USPGA. That prediction was based on a) liking the look of his game and b) the glowing reference a former Ryder Cup star turned television pundit had given him. Of course, he came nowhere near and in fact 2004 and 2005 were without question disappointing ones for Immelman as he failed to successfully juggle the European and PGA tours.
Finishing outside the top 10 of the European Order of Merit and failing to make the cut in events such as the Masters and the Volvo PGA was not what this talented youngster had in mind.

The only real highlight of this spell was retaining the South African Airways Open title at Erinvale, a feat previously achieved by, you guessed it, Player.

Last year, though, was happily more consistent. The 26-year-old began the season with a top-10 at the Nissan Open and then came tantalisingly close to winning the Wachovia Championship and the Byron Nelson.

The former was a particular disappointment, as he three-putted the final green to put himself in a play-off with Jim Furyk. The American prevailed. Weaker minds may well have crumbled.

But as anyone who has attended Nike media days during Open Championship week knows, Immelman possesses anything but a weak mind.

On these occasions he has immaculately held court in front of a marquee full of journalists, answering questions on subjects as varied as the impact of technology on the world's historic courses to Nike's special golf contact lenses. He does so articulately, thoughtfully and interestingly.

During these occasions I have remarked to a colleague that it would be difficult to imagine any other player doing a better job.

To those who have witnessed Immelman in such a confident mode, with such clarity of thought, it would have come as no surprise when he bounced back from Wachovia to claim his maiden US tour title at the historic Western Open.

He did so, notably, by overhauling Vijay Singh and holding off a late challenge from none other than Woods ­ an aspect which no doubt made the success all the more sweet. These words from the world No 1 were also probably nice to hear:
"It was just a matter of time before he won. He came close at Wachovia and obviously he has an inordinate amount of talent."

The man himself is certainly happy with the way he handled the pressure which comes with competing with two of the world's finest.

"It was an incredible feeling. I really enjoyed every minute of it and to hole a 35-foot putt on the last gives me goosebumps thinking about it.

"To throw my name in the mix there with guys like Tiger and Vijay, who have been the best players in the world for the last 10 or 15 years, was great.It's a pretty fun time for me.
I knew I wasn't too far off my first tournament win and now I've done that, it's awesome."

Monkey well and truly off his back, he went on to record five more top-10s and win the rookie of the year award with seventh place on the PGA Tour's Money List. It was the first time since 1976 that a rookie had finished in the top 10.

After the Western Open win, Immelman thanked four people, including David Leadbetter and his wife, Carminita, who was back home awaiting the birth of their first child (Jacob's eventual arrival inconveniently coincided with The Open at Hoylake).

Somewhat surprisingly, he did not mention Player, although he perhaps ought to have. It was the Black Knight who made Immelman a controversial captain's pick for the 2005 Presidents Cup, a decision which not only gave his compatriot a two-year exemption onto the PGA Tour but also a welcome shot of confidence.

Once at the Robert Trent Jones complex, Player's selection combined with Mike Weir to win their opening day's foursomes. As it turns out, Immelman ended up not needing that exemption because he finished with enough money to be inside the top 125, earning a special temporary exemption.

But at the time, it seemed as though he would need it and there was some controversy surrounding that issue. Player took plenty of criticism in America for selecting Immelman as he was not really among the highest rated players not to make the Rest of the World team.

But the week proved to the wild card that he truly did have the game to compete with golf's glitterati and he left a more assured talent, providing the basis for his resurgence in 2006. His clutch putting on the 18th at the Western Open was evidence he had turned the corner, especially coming on the back of the two near misses.

Indeed, the time he spent on his short game after those disappointments -­ as well as the work he carried out with Bob Rotella on his mental focus - got a career which always promised to be something special back on track.

Immelman started swinging a club aged five and by the time he was 12 he was playing off a scratch handicap and poised to follow in the footsteps of his brother Mark, a leading club pro.

To add to his golfing pedigree, his father, Johan, is the commissioner for the Sunshine Tour, explaining Immelman's continued support for the country's golf circuit.

At the age of 17 he represented South Africa in the Eisenhower Trophy in Chile but it was not much longer before he turned professional, in 1999 as a plus-three handicapper. A year later he won the Vodacom Players Championship at the Royal Cape and followed that with his first win on the European Tour in 2002, the first of his South African Open victories.

His best season prior to last year was in 2003 when he defended his South African SAA Open title, won the Data Pro-Am and finished runner-up in the Dunhill Championship and the SA Tour Championship. He also teamed up with countryman, Rory Sabatini, to win the WGC World Cup at Kiawah Island.

The acid test, though, is in the Majors. To date his performances have rather flattered to deceive, save for a good showing in the Masters a couple of years ago. But he goes into 2007 with more of a basis on which to base assertions that he can challenge for one of the big four titles.

The man himself agrees. "I'm starting to get a few Majors under my belt and I've now got some experience in them.
"Finishing 5th in the 2005 Masters was a huge boost for me, as was playing in the second to last group on Sunday and somewhat managing to hang in there. You know, that was a nice feeling.

"And then at The Open I played really well for most of the week and finished 15th. So I guess those two finishes have started giving me some confidence, and so I kind of know what to expect coming up.

"I think it's just all experience, just helping me through these big events now, starting to get to know what to expect.

"I love to win, there's no doubt about it. I hope to win a lot of times in my career. And if you look at all the top players on the course there is one common denominator and that is how relaxed they are on the golf course and how relaxed they are off it.

"There is no drama, there are no massive emotional changes. I think I'm starting to find my feet a little bit, playing a full US schedule, which helps, because when you've got at the back of your mind that you've only got 10 events, you're almost trying to force the issue.

"Last year, knowing I was going to play a full schedule took a lot of pressure off, I knew I could kind of pace myself and just try and gain some momentum as the year goes. I think that's a sign I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable."

This year has started in similar fashion, Immelman being edged out by compatriot Ernie Els, who played beautifully on the final afternoon at Humewood, in his favourite South African Airways Open.

He then teed it up in the States and finished third in the
Mercedes Championship, confirming his status as a serial challenger in the biggest tournaments.

"I'm playing the best golf of my life. It's just a case of trying to build on the achievements of last year," he decreed afterwards.

Twelve months ago, Immelman had lost his way and his place at the front of the Brat Pack. As we enter the 2007 season he now finds himself very much at the head of the pack chasing Tiger.