Out of the Rough: Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player

Although just two weeks deep of the 2026 DP World Tour season, the Tour splits, with two events taking place this week.

As some remain in Australia for this week’s Crown Australian Open, others take to South Africa with a slew of PGA Tour regulars for this week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player.

Last year’s edition of this event saw it be played during the Fall for the very first time.

For 2022 and 2023, this event served as the penultimate stop on the DP World Tour’s season schedule. It is now set to host 72 of the best golfers the DP World Tour (and the PGA Tour) have to offer during the fall.

This event was first played in 1981 although to the tune of an exclusive 12-man invitational. That changed 11 years ago when it became an official co-sanctioned event between the Sunshine and DP World Tour and the event was expanded to a 30-man field.

In 2016, the field was increased to 72 golfers.

The event has been held at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa since its inception in 1981. 

The Field

Although a limited field event, this week’s field offers plenty of star power.

Seven-time PGA Tour winner Viktor Hovland headlines this field.

He’ll be joined by PGA Tour regulars Nick Taylor, Thomas Detry, Aldrich Potgieter, Will Zalatoris, Garrick Higgo, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Thorbjorn Olesen.

Of course, a strong South African contingent will be in attendance this week headlined by Potgieter, Higgo and Bezuidenhout.

Other notable South Africans in this week’s field include Thriston Lawrence, Daniel Van Tonder, Jacques Kruyswijk, Christon Lamprecht, among others.

Notable DP World Tour members in this week’s field include Marco Penge, Junghwan Lee, Grant Forrest, Daniel Brown, Adrien Saddier, Connor Syme, Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, Kristoffer Reitan, Martin Couvra, Eugenio Chacarra, Haotong Li, Laurie Canter, among others.

Adrian Meronk will represent the LIV Golf Tour in this week’s field as well.

Johannes Veerman comes in as the defending champion, winning by an impressive five-strokes over the likes of Matthew Jordan, Romain Langasque and Potgieter to claim his second DP World Tour title. 

Danny Willet (2014) is the only other former winner of this event in this week’s field. 

The Course

The Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa has been the host of this event since its inception in 1981.

It plays as a Par-72 at 7,819 yards.

This is obviously a Gary Player designed track that is a parkland course and is set in an extinct volcanic crater.

Although the course appears super long on the scorecard at 7,819 yards, this venue sits at altitude and the ball will travel roughly ten-percent further than it does at sea level. Therefore, the course does not play as long as it may suggest.

However, this course still plays long.

The fairways featured this week are fairly narrow and are guarded by thick Kikuyu rough.

With the length of this course, driving distance of course will be a key but missing the fairways will be penal with this Kikuyu rough as well.

This Kikuyu rough is notoriously tough to play from. If a golfer is to find themselves buried in the rough often, it is improbable that they will find enough greens in regulation to compete this week.

The greens here at the Gary Player Country Club are Bentgrass, small in size, shaped like clovers and are surrounded by a multitude of bunkers. They run at around 11 on the Simpmeter as well.

The Tour’s better putters will get a leg up this week, especially those who shine on the more difficult Bentgrass greens.

Around-the-green work will be important this week as well due to the odd shape of these greens along with having to play from the Kikuyu rough at some point across the four days of golf.

As history has shown, any hopeful winner too must attack the four lengthy par-fives this course has to offer.

In all, this course is a spectacular piece of golf architecture that too offers a picturesque backdrop of the Pilanesberg Mountains.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, there is a 25-percent chance of precipitation on Thursday and just a ten-percent chance on Friday. There is a 40-percent chance of thunderstorms on Saturday and 65-percent chance of scattered thunderstorms on Sunday. Temperatures will begin at 79-degrees across both Thursday and Friday before increasing to 81-degrees on Saturday and 82-degrees on Sunday. Winds will begin at nine miles-per-hour on Thursday before dipping to six miles-per-hour on Friday. From there, the winds will jump back-up to ten miles-per-hour on Saturday and finish the week at six miles-per-hour on Sunday.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Average Driving Distance

• Scrambling

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Par Five Average Scoring

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)

• Sand Saves Percentage

• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

Betting Card

Tom McKibbin (+2200)

We last saw McKibbin on the DP World Tour at the DP World Tour Championship where he placed T16th. He Also placed 66th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, fourth at the Open de Espana, T15th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, T11th at the BMW PGA Championship and T20th at the Amgen Irish Open. He most recently teed it up at the PIF Saudi International where he placed T20th and won the Link Hong Kong Open not that long ago in a loaded field on the Asian Tour. He finished the 2025 DP World Tour season ninth in sand saves percentage, 18th in GIR%, 20th in par-five average scoring, 30th in SG: PUTT, 35th in SG: OTT, 42nd in average driving distance, 61st in scrambling and 70th in SG: APP. He did play this event each of the past two seasons, placing 60th last year and T33rd in 2023. 

Kristoffer Reitan (+2800)

A recent graduate to the PGA Tour via top-ten in the Race to Dubai standings, Reitan is looking to sharpen his skills before heading stateside for the 2026 PGA Tour season. He finished last season on the DP World Tour eighth in SG: OTT, 14th in average driving distance, 34th in SG: PUTT, 36th in sand saves percentage, 38th in GIR%, 43rd in scrambling, 59th in par-five average scoring, 60th in SG: APP and 146th in SG: ATG. He too last played the DP World Tour Championship where he placed T28th. Prior to that he placed 22nd at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, T30th at the Open de Espana, T5th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and T5th at the FedEx Open de France. He’ll be making his tournament debut this week. 

Jesper Svensson (+4000)

Svensson played last season on the PGA Tour as he gained his card via top-ten promotion via the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai in 2024. It was a disappointing season for him stateside but he returns to the DP World Tour to regain his form. He last played The RSM Classic where he placed T51st. Prior to that he placed T14th at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, missed the cut at the World Wide Technology Championship and placed T15th at the Bank of Utah Championship. He finished the 2025 season on the PGA Tour fourth in average driving distance, eighth in par-five average scoring, tenth in SG: OTT, 64th in SG: ATG, 75th in GIR%, 97th in sand saves percentage, 114th in SG: PUTT, 130th in SG: APP and 139th in scrambling. He played this event a season ago where he placed T36th.

2024 Betting Card

• Thomas Detry (+2200) - T36th

• Tom McKibbin (+2500) - 60th

• Jesper Svensson (+4500) - T36th

• Sam Bairstow (+7000) - T52nd

• Joe Dean (+11000) - T43rd

2023 Betting Card

• Adrian Meronk (+2200) - T15th

• Nicolai Hojgaard (+3500) - 2nd

• Matt Wallace (+4500) - T15th

• Romain Langasque (+6000) - T62nd

• Antoine Rozner (+7500) - T51st