As Gary Player reflects on what the Nedbank Golf Challenge has meant to him since he helped launch ‘Africa’s Major’ over four decades ago, it’s perhaps best also expressed in the words of the world’s leading golfers about what this DP World Tour event means to them.
Since the first tournament in 1981 in which Player himself played and helped to bring together the field, the Nedbank Golf Challenge has captivated the imagination of the world’s leading golfers, from a young Seve Ballesteros duelling with Johnny Miller for the inaugural title, to current champion Tommy Fleetwood growing up watching the tournament on TV with his father and dreaming of his own success there.
This year will be no different as the US$6,000,000 tournament returns to the Gary Player Country Club from November 9-12, with an exclusive 64-man field vying for honours as well as an increased number of 2023 Race to Dubai Ranking Points and a place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
“It’s been an amazing journey,” reflects Player. “You start with nothing – not even a golf course. We had to first build the golf course. Then you have an idea. A dream for a tournament. So now, all these years later, to see this dream become the dream of so many others as well is the true legacy of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.”
“Today a professional golfer wins this great tournament, and at the same time a young golfer watching it formulates a dream for himself to one day do the same. That is the power of this dream that started all those years ago.”
It’s a dream defending champion Tommy Fleetwood certainly shares.
“This is a very special event for me,” said Fleetwood. “I’m not South African but I grew up watching this event with my dad every year. I love the history behind it and the winners. When you walk down the ninth hole on the left and you see all the winners from all the years on that walkway, I often thought it would be great to add my name on there.”
Major champion and Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose, who returns to the tournament this year, feels a definite kinship with the event having been born in Johannesburg.
“South Africa is very close to my heart, and to play in front of a South African crowd who love their sport is always good fun.”
Former world number one and triple Major champion Nick Price, winner of three Nedbank Golf Challenge titles and who held the tournament record of 24 under par before it was surpassed by Ernie Els, said the tournament exceeded his own expectations when he was dominating it.
“This tournament has to be one of the best in the world from the players’ point of view. We were treated royally, like kings. It was a different kind of experience for me. I felt conscious of everything that went on, even when I was eating dinner.”
For Ernie Els, an icon of this event, it has always been a special week for him.
“The hospitality towards the players is always at the highest level at Sun City. They look after the players, family, friends and entourage very well indeed. That’s why so many players have wanted to play there over the years. The hospitality is simply wonderful. It’s called ‘Africa’s Major’ and it certainly feels like one.”
European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has equally fond memories of this tournament.
“It’s an event I’ve always loved coming to. We’ve seen some great champions there and I’ve always loved coming to Africa. It’s just a great place with great people and a very challenging golf course. It’s a long way to come but it’s always worth the trip.”
South Africa’s George Coetzee was a young golfer when he attended his first Nedbank Golf Challenge, and he picked one of the most memorable as he watched the famous playoff between Nick Price and Tiger Woods in 1998.
“I got Nick Price’s ball with his name on it. I also grew up a big Ernie Els fan. I remember really disliking Bernhard Langer because he kept on beating Ernie in this event. For us growing up in South Africa and watching this event, you aspired to work hard and become a professional golfer and to hopefully one day play in the Nedbank Golf Challenge.”
Retief Goosen, one of the elder statesmen of South African golf and a Nedbank Golf Challenge winner in 2004, said the tournament feels exactly like a Major for him.
“This event has always been one of the best in the world. The effort that goes into it is amazing. Around the 18th green with all the grandstands there it feels like you’re playing in a Major Championship.”
Swede Alex Noren said he had to pinch himself when he finally secured a place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and then won it in 2016.
“It’s unbelievable. I tried to get in this tournament for so many years, and when I got in here, to end up winning, it was unbelievable.”
Since 1981, the Nedbank Golf Challenge has inspired the dreams of some of golf’s greats, and it continues to do so in a new era of the game.
The 2023 Nedbank Golf Challenge will once again be included on the DP World Tour schedule in partnership with Nedbank and Sun International and will be the penultimate event before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
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About the DP World Tour
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group, with a global schedule featuring a minimum of 39 tournaments in 26 different countries across the 2023 season.
Formerly known as the European Tour, which was established in 1972, the 2023 DP World Tour schedule includes five Rolex Series events, along with four Major Championships, one World Golf Championship event, as well as tournaments staged around the world with a minimum prize of $2million for all events solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.
The season concludes with the final Rolex Series event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, where the winner of the Tour’s season-long competition, the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex, will be crowned.
DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, is the title partner of the DP World Tour, which is administered by the European Tour group.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group is the overarching corporate brand which administers four competition brands: the DP World Tour, the Challenge Tour, the Legends Tour and, along with the PGA of America, is the Managing Partner of golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup.
Established in 1972, the European Tour group is committed to ‘Driving Golf Further’through our guiding principles of being innovative, inclusive and global.
Innovative: We are driving innovation in golf through the creation of award-winning content, pioneering tournament formats and the use of the latest technology and inventive fan engagement. We are committed to attracting new audiences whilst respecting the tradition of our sport.
Inclusive: We are committed to include all who share a love for the game of golf. We are passionate about a closer collaboration with the women’s game, golf for the disabled and promoting the many physical and mental health benefits of playing golf.
Global: Since 1972, players from 38 different countries have won tournaments on our main Tour, while our live broadcast reaches more than 490 million homes in more than 150 countries every week, generating in excess of 2,200 global broadcast hours for each event. We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, BMW, Emirates, Fortinet and Hilton as Official Partners.
The European Tour group has Strategic Alliances with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour and ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, while we ensure we have a positive long-term impact on the courses, countries and the communities we visit through ‘Golf for Good’, the umbrella name for the European Tour group’s commitment to ‘Driving Golf Further’ in an environmentally and socially sustainable way.
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