Landing on the Green
In 2014, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, also known as “Africa’s Major”, will be putting on more of a show than ever before. Thanks to an increased tournament prize purse, the inclusion of the tournament into the official world ranking points, and the beautiful and testing course of the Gary Player Country Club, the Nedbank Golf Challenge will this year draw one of the largest and deepest fields in the tournament’s 32-year history.
After two practice days, the four-day tournament tees off on 4th December, which will allow the best international golfers to attend, as both the European Tour’s Race to Dubai and the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup will have been wrapped up by then. In previous years, the Nedbank Golf Challenge was considered a purely unofficial tournament, and it served as an opportunity for the world’s top players to enjoy some off season competition. But with South Africa’s biggest tournament now affecting world rankings, the stakes are significantly higher for those who tee off on African soil.
The tournament was formerly known as the Million Dollar Golf Challenge, as it was the first tournament to offer $1 million of total prize money apportioned over 12 players. Now the tournament boasts a kitty of $6.5 million and the champion gets to take home a pleasant $1.25 million, with the remainder spread over the now enlarged field of 30 players.
Just two hours from Johannesburg and situated in the North West Province, Sun International’s flagship resort, Sun City, is home not only to the challenge, but also to an immaculately groomed course. The course was designed by Gary Player and was opened in 1979. Over the past few decades, it has received high praise as one of the best courses in the world. The par-72 is famed for its length and has over 7,000 m of play amid the surrounds of the beautiful Pilanesberg mountain range.
This is arguably one of the longest courses in the world. At a time when discussions are being raised around the length of flight of the modern golf ball, the Gary Player Country Club is one of the few international courses that is actually able to provide a serious opportunity for the challenge. While the players are tested in both their long and short game, the course was also designed to stage a world-class championship that would attract world-class viewing, and thus spectators are assured of the best views possible no matter where the ball lands.
The event not only attracts large numbers of tourists from across the world, but over 200 countries will also have access to the live broadcast of the event, allowing for a fantastic marketing platform for South Africa as an appealing golfing destination. In fact, South Africa is second only to the USA with its number of golf courses dotted in all provinces of the country. Golfing enthusiasts and pro players alike can test their handicap in wildly differing settings, from greens in the bush to the fairways of the coast where ocean breezes provide relief from the African summer sun.
Few will argue, though, that there is a more difficult and demanding course than the Gary Player Country Club. While each of the 18 holes has its rewards, the signature hole is undoubtedly the 9th, which offers a superb test of golf, even among the best of the best. The course may well be flatter than most, but the water hazards, hidden pins, and strategically placed bunkers require players to have stamina and accuracy. The kikuyu grass is kept in pristine condition all year round, but the course also undergoes an intensive 16-week revitalisation programme in preparation for the event. Hence, the calibre of golf at the Nedbank Golf Challenge has always been exceptional.
So, as one would expect of South African hospitality, the players are sure to be well rewarded: They get to play in astounding beauty, without missing any other major tournament elsewhere, on one of the best golf courses in the world, and then of course experience accommodation fit for kings at the Palace of the Lost City. It is no wonder that the greatest players jump at the opportunity to take part in the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
We’ll have to wait just a little longer to discover the who’s who at this year’s challenge. At this stage, the players have not been announced, and the world rankings that will be used for the selection will only be evaluated at the end of November. While no names will be released prior to this selection, there should be no doubt whatsoever that the competition will be stiff and that the golfing fraternity is in for a treat in early December. Naturally, the 42-year-old 2013 champion, Thomas Bjørn, has already earned his spot and is expected to fiercely defend his title.
During the 2014 Nedbank Golf Challenge, some 70,000 visitors are expected to devour 97 tons of food and 18,000 beers, all while they watch the action from 150 screens set up along the course, while raising millions of Rands for the Sports Trust in an effort to develop sport and recreation in developing local communities.
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