The European Tour joins one of the world’s great festivals of golf this week as the Nedbank Golf Challenge becomes an officially sanctioned event on The 2014 Race to Dubai.
With 30 of the world’s leading players, 25 of whom are European Tour Members, going head to head for a US$6.5 million prize fund at the magnificent Sun City Resort in South Africa, the Nedbank Golf Challenge has instantly become one of the marquee events on the 2014 Schedule.
With a tournament set-up that would not be out of place at any Major or World Golf Championship event, the Nedbank Golf Challenge has rightly earned its reputation as the jewel in Africa’s golfing crown.
The event was the vision of the founder of Sun City, Sol Kerzner, who opened the great South African Resort, a two hour drive to the north west of Johannesburg, in 1979 as part of his Sun International group of companies and quickly commissioned his country’s greatest athlete – Gary Player – to design a golf course befitting the family resort.
The Gary Player Country Club was soon under construction and was designed not only to provide a fitting challenge to the game’s elite, but also to accommodate huge numbers of spectators at the tournament.
The result will be there for all to see this week, as television pictures will be beamed across the globe to show a venue that was literally custom made for huge galleries, with formidable grandstands packed with spectators creating an amazing buzz all around the golf course.
The first ‘Million Dollar Challenge’ was played in 1981, with five of the game’s most legendary names – Ballesteros, Nicklaus, Trevino, Miller and, of course, Player – doing battle for what was then an incredible prize fund.
Miller defeated Ballesteros in a play-off to take the title and the event quickly established itself as one of the most popular and entertaining sporting events in Africa.
Over the years the Nedbank Golf Challenge has consistently attracted the game’s biggest and best, with every World Number One (since the inception of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986) teeing up at the Gary Player Country Club at one stage.
The list of past champions is breath taking, including Miller, Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Nick Price, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, who is this week’s defending champion.
The tournament is a unique concept, founded upon the same principles of fun and family entertainment that Kerzner injected into the Sun City Resort itself.
Speaking on behalf of The European Tour, Chief Executive George O’Grady said: “We are honoured and extremely proud to be associated with the Nedbank Golf Challenge. In partnership with the Sunshine Tour, the Nedbank Golf Challenge will be one of eight co-sanctioned events in South Africa on The 2014 Race to Dubai.
“The strength of our partnership with the Sunshine Tour, and indeed South Africa, is one of our most enduring and to be able to join together this week at one of the world’s biggest and most engaging tournaments gives an immense sense of satisfaction.
“We must acknowledge the incredible efforts of Tournament Director Alastair Roper, Leedam Vercellino, and their team at Sun City for driving this great event forward, while Nedbank’s support of the tournament is nothing short of remarkable. Their tireless efforts and attention to detail have made the Nedbank Golf Challenge one of South Africa’s premier sporting events, and we look forward to working alongside them for many years to come.”
