"I had a long year and did a lot of travelling - especially in the middle part of the year, going back and forth between Europe and the US and decided it was a good opportunity to take a break - I was only missing a few events in Asia," he said.
"To come down here, there is almost no time change or jetlag problems and I have always played well in South Africa.
"There are a lot of world ranking points in these two weeks and with eight weeks off, if I had missed these two weeks it would have been a real big stretch without playing.
"Also I have some things I have been working on in the gym which I want to put into practice."
Defending champion Goosen and three-time winner Els are Westwood's main rivals this weekend, with Trevor Immelman completing a trio of big local names gunning for the title.
Angel Cabrera and youngster Charl Schwartzel are also tipped to shine.
