Pressure on champ
South African knows he won't be able to fly under the radar
Last Updated: March 9, 2012 7:48am
Charl Schwartzel: Knows he'll be very much in the spotlight this time
Masters champion Charl Schwartzel says the extra focus on him will be the biggest obstacle he faces this year.
The South African made history in 2011 after a phenomenal finish saw him hole four birdies in a row - and all eyes will undoubtedly be on him when defending his title.
"Probably the biggest challenge this year is there's obviously going to be more eyes on you, people would want to see whether you can live up to the challenge," Schwartzel said.
"But that's something I have to get around in my head not to worry about. I have to go out there and treat it as a new tournament, just give it my best. As long as I prepare properly, give the golf the attention it needs that week."
No changes
After winning the green jacket as well as his first major Schwartzel has said he plans to make no changes ahead of this year's Masters and is preparing for the trademark rolling greens of Augusta National.
He said: "If you know the greens well you can actually use them to your benefit, more than what should be a disadvantage or that you should be scared of them, but you really need to know them like the back of your hand.
"I was fortunate. I asked a few guys, some of the best putters in the world, I asked them what they did on the very fast greens, and they gave me a bit of advice. It worked out for me."
For the 27-year-old, this meant finding the most ambitious putting areas at every event he played and practising repeatedly.
"Every week that I played, I went and found the fastest spot I could find on the putting green, downhill putts," Schwartzel said. "The biggest thing you actually learn is to make a small stroke.
"You play week in and week out on fast greens, but not nearly as fast as you get at Augusta. The biggest adjustment is to learn to make a little stroke and be consistent with it. That's what helped me."
