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One of the world's leading and most popular golfers, South African Ernie Els, will arrive in Sydney in February to inspect his design for a new golf course for Bradcorp's $1 billion housing estate at Wilton Park in Sydney's southwest.

Els, a three-time major winner and current world number three, says he is thrilled to be building his first Australian course after working on new courses around the world.

"Australia has such a strong and proud golfing history and its courses stand as some of the finest to play on," said Els, speaking from South Africa where he is playing in the Nelson Mandela Invitational.

"My forward design team have already come back to me and reported the Wilton Park site is potentially one of the very best we have worked on anywhere in the world. This is an important project for us, especially knowing that we'll be working with one of Sydney's most innovative and ecologically aware developers in Bradcorp.

"For me to design my first Australian course is extremely exciting. This is a great new challenge and I know the Aussies will be watching closely to see what we come up with!

"But I'm sure that by working with the best people out there, Ernie Els Design will deliver a course the people of south-western Sydney will be proud of."

Ernie Els Design is a joint venture between Els and golf legend Jack Nicklaus, who provides the staff and technical know-how to complete Ernie's blueprints.

Bradcorp CEO Peter Brennan says confirmation that Els will design the course at Wilton is a great boost for the ambitious project.

"We're very excited that Wilton Park will be Ernie Els' first project in Australia. It will give us a significant point of difference because the courses he designs are different from other designers," Mr. Brennan said.

"And it's great to be associated with someone like Ernie Els, who at 35 still has his best years ahead of him. His golfing resume speaks for itself in terms of achievements over the past decade."

Bradcorp decided to approach Els after an agreement with Medallist, which involved Greg Norman designing the course, expired on June 30.

Mr Brennan explains, "There was no issue with the golf course concept or the Greg Norman design. It was simply a commercial decision to go in another direction. We think this will deliver a better outcome than was previously proposed."

He said after extensive delays and objections from BHP Billiton to the proposed development and the rezoning process, Bradcorp and BHP Billiton had made groundbreaking progress in discussions to ensure the security of the coal resource in the area and its extraction, without impacting the Wilton Park housing proposal or the golf course design.

"The high level of co-operation between Bradcorp and BHP Billiton provided a model for wider application in the Sydney region on how the two industries could co-exist and work together."

Ernie Els said he was looking forward to walking the site when he arrived in Australia next year to defend his Heineken Classic title in Melbourne.

"When presented with this opportunity by Bradcorp and getting an appreciation of what they wanted to achieve, naturally I was very keen to be involved," Ernie said.

"I've been fortunate in my career to play the best golf courses around the globe. My experiences have instilled an appreciation for the classic golf courses that have withstood the test of time, and the 'modern classics' that continue to set new standards of quality. It is my belief that we must mold our concepts into the land, rather than force the land into our concepts.

"Our courses enhance their environment, fairly display their challenges and hazards and afford the player the opportunity to execute a full range of golf shots and carefully plan a strategy for every hole."

Born Theodore Ernest Els, Ernie has won three majors: the US Open (1994 and 1997), and the 2002 British Open. He's also won 11 titles on the PGA Tour, as well as another 42 titles in Europe and around the world.

Ernie designed his first golf course in 2000 at Whiskey Creek, Maryland, to great acclaim. Wilton Park will be Ernie's first golf course design in Australia and his fifth overall.

Mr. Brennan said that Bradcorp anticipated commencing work on the project in early 2005, pending remaining government and council approvals".