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The 2025 Nedbank Golf Challenge is held at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City and is famously known as “Africa’s Major.” The tournament, part of the Opening Swing of the DP World Tour, has long been a highlight of the calendar for decades, as it draws some of the top-ranked players from around the world.

One of the biggest names this week is Viktor Hovland, who is making his debut at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Hovland, fresh from Europe’s Ryder Cup victory in September, expressed his excitement ahead of the event.

“I’m excited to tee it up at the Nedbank Golf Challenge for the first time. I’ve had a lot of cool experiences at DP World Tour events around the world, and I’m looking forward to adding this one to the list. It’s an event that has a lot of history, a great list of winners, and, of course, the support of Gary Player, so I’m sure it will be a great week.”

Joining him this week is Will Zalatoris, who is returning to competition after nearly a six-month hiatus due to an injury. After re-herniating two discs in his back during the spring, Zalatoris stepped away from playing. His last event was in May, at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, where he missed the cut. Joining Zalatoris and Hovland are many prominent names like Aldrich Potgeiter, Marco Penge, and Francisco Molinari.

The event, which is annually hosted in honor of Gary Player, features a limited field of 66 players, and there will be no cut in this event. So, it means all the players will move into the weekend and have a good opportunity to bag the $6 million prize fund. Out of this, the winner will take home a paycheck of $1,025,000.

Let’s take a look at the prize money breakdown in detail:

The winner will also earn approximately 21 Official World Golf Ranking points, a two-plus season exemption on the European Tour, and entry into other key events. The full field competes for 4,000 Race to Dubai points, with the winner taking nearly 667 DP World Tour points. These points are crucial, as they will count toward the Race to Dubai standings, and the top five on that list will share a $6 million bonus pool.

While the prize money is significant, the Gary Player Country Club has also undergone key updates this year, adding new challenges and strategic opportunities for the players.

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Course Upgrades at the 2025 Nedbank Golf Challenge

Beyond the competition and prize money, the Gary Player Course underwent some upgrades before the event kicked off. Since its opening in 1979, the course has been widely regarded as South Africa’s premier championship test of golf, and it has been the home of the Nedbank Golf Challenge since 1981.

Ahead of this year’s tournament, Gary Player personally oversaw several strategic and aesthetic updates to the course. The par-three 4th hole now reveals more of its green and water hazard after bushes were cleared on the right, while the par-three 7th hole has a new tee box pushed back 25 meters. Changes to the par-five 9th and 14th encourage more aggressive play and pave the way for a possible longer tee on the 15th in the future. There is also a new player pathway through the bush behind the 14th green, which leads to the new tee box on the 15th.

These adjustments ensure the course remains both visually striking and tactically demanding, challenging even the game’s elite while maintaining a fair test that has made the Nedbank Golf Challenge a highlight on the DP World Tour. After this, golfers will move to the Alfred Dunhill Championship next week, at the Royal Johannesburg Golf Club.