After a season of absence and a change of date in the DP World Tour calendar, the prestigious Nedbank Golf Challenge, also known as the African Major, returns this week.
The tournament takes place at the Gary Player Country Club in South Africa and kicks off fifteen days of action in the country, ahead of next week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, and concludes the Opening Swing with the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
It is not just another event in the regular calendar, as it features several players from the PGA Tour. Among them, the defending champion of the last edition played, Max Homa. Alongside him are other big names such as Will Zalatoris, Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, and Erik van Rooyen.
The season is just beginning on the DP World Tour, but the end of the year is approaching, bringing with it the urgency to achieve one of the major objectives, finishing the year within the top fifty in the world. Beyond the honour of ending in these positions, it traditionally guarantees an invitation to the following year’s Masters Tournament.
According to the X account, Nosferatu, there are six players outside the top 50 who could break into the cut this week. The sextet in question are: Christian Bezuidenhout (56), Mackenzie Hughes (57), Nicolai Hojgaard (58), Thomas Detry (62), Will Zalatoris (65), and Thorbjorn Olesen (71).
In the case of Bezuidenhout, Detry, and Zalatoris, it does not directly affect them regarding the first Major of the year as they are already exempt and will receive an invitation through other means, regardless of their world ranking position. However, with a good result, they could potentially leave Min Woo Lee and Lucas Glover, who occupy the 49th and 50th positions in the world ranking, temporarily out of the Masters. Neither of these two will be able to earn points this week as they are not playing in Sun City.
In summary, Mackenzie Hughes, Nicolai Hojgaard, and Thorbjorn Olesen are the three golfers who could make a significant impact in South African lands with a victory that propels them into the top 50 less than three weeks before the year’s end.
For Nicolai, it would also mean the first victory since he triumphed thirteen months ago at the DP World Tour Championship and reached number 33 in the world just nine months ago. It could be the moment to take off again.
The land of Mandela is a land of dreams, and without a doubt, both the Canadian and the two Danes will be looking to give themselves a double joy in the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
