Ernie Els will feature in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in Mpumalanga, his only outing on the Sunshine Tour this summer.

Els this week confirmed his place in the €1-million tournament from 10-13 December, which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour.

Els will be joined in the field by Ryder Cup star and nine-time European Tour champion Thomas Bjorn, who will make his first appearance in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek, fellow Ryder Cup players Paul McGinley and David Howell, and defending champion Richard Sterne.

After missing the tournament last year, Els returns to a championship where he boasts an impressive record of one win and three top-tens in the last five years.

Els finished the current season on the European Tour in 11th place on the money list, including top tens in the Open Championship at Turnberry and the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

He came close to a victory this year when he was beaten by a single stroke by Phil Mickelson in the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, and finished tied second in The Barclays on the PGA Tour.

With Els in the field, the championship welcomes back five former champions at Leopard Creek, also including Sterne (2008 champion), South African Charl Schwartzel (2005 champion), Spain's Alvaro Quiros (2006 champion) and Englishman John Bickerton (2007 champion).

The Alfred Dunhill Championship will also make South African golf history when it tees off the European Tour's 2010 Race to Dubai on South Africa's top-ranked golf course.