Australian PGA and Open Champions head for South Africa
Sun City – image Getty Images
Several years ago, the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City was one of the richest tournaments in world golf with a then-restricted field making it even more attractive for those who qualified to play.
These days the event still carries a good purse of US$6 million but in relative terms it has fallen far behind the many other events in world golf and the field has been extended to 70 players.
Still, for those in the field who have played for less than $US 1.5 million in each of the last two weeks in Australia the prizemoney is a welcome boost to the early DP World schedule for the 2024/2025 season.
Two of those are the winners of the two events in Australia, Elvis Smylie and Ryggs Johnston, both of whom are entries into the event and add who add an intriguing dynamic to the event given both were first time winners on the DP World Tour and that both are now into their first season on the DP World Tour.
Two weeks ago Smylie was considering the possibility of gaining entry to the DP World Tour perhaps by finishing inside the top three of the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit but his win in Brisbane has opened up many doors for him including opportunity to play in an event and a country which perhaps seemed a far off dream in mid-November.
The same applies to the latest Australian Open Champion Ryggs Johnston. The American arrived in Australia after gaining his playing rights for the DP World Tour via Final Q School Qualifying a month ago but his impressive three shot victory at Kingston Heath has him second only to Smylie in the Race to Dubai rankings and adding yet another exotic flavour to the tour and this event.
The event no longer attracts the absolute elite of the game but a field that includes Corey Connors, Will Zalatoris, Max Homa, Christian Bezuidenout, Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard and Danny Willett, along with a host of highly talented South African golfers, carries a considerable level of intrigue.
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier will join Elvis Smylie in the field as the only other Australasian, the 2023 British Masters finding a little form of late after a perhaps disappointing follow-up to his impressive 2023.
The other player who is sure to make his mark on the DP World Tour this season is Chinese star Wenyi Ding.
After a glittering amateur career, Ding turned professional through the Global Amateur Pathway, which was launched by the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and The R&A to help the best eligible male amateur players within the top 20 on the World Amateur Golf Rankings take the next step in their careers and secure playing rights on the DP World Tour.
Although only a few months into his professional career, Ding is already a global golf sensation.
The Beijing-born golfer was the first in Arizona State history to win both the Pacific-12 Conference Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year. He was also the first Chinese golfer to win a United States Golf Association (USGA) title when he claimed the 2022 US Junior Amateur, and this year he won the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship.
By staying professional Ding has turned down the opportunity to play in the Masters and the Open Championship in 2025 as a result of his win at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship but he might get there anyway given his incredible promise.
