Recent DP World Tour winners Ryan Fox, Robert MacIntyre and Guido Migliozzi will add further star power to the international field gathering in Sun City for the 40th edition of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
New Zealander Fox is third in the DP World Tour Rankings thanks to an impressive season that has included wins at the Ras al Khaimah Classic and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course, St Andrews, as well as six further top 10s.
The three-time DP World Tour winner will tee it up at Gary Player Country Club for the fourth time from 10-13 November, looking for a big finish to the season as he vies to become the first player from New Zealand to be named European No 1.
“This is a tournament that I’ve always enjoyed going to, and it’s great to see it back on the schedule. It’s been a positive season for me so far, and I’m looking forward to the last few events, including a trip back to Sun City for the 40th-anniversary event,” said Fox.
MacIntyre will make his second appearance in ‘Africa’s Major’ in November, following a top-10 finish in 2019.
The Scot started the qualification process for the 2023 Ryder Cup with a bang last month, winning the DS Automobiles Italian Open at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club – the venue where Europe will take on the United States next September.
The 26-year-old won his second DP World Tour title at the perfect time as he aims to fulfil his dream of a Ryder Cup debut in Rome.
“I had a great experience on my debut at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and I can’t believe that it was three years ago now,” MacIntyre said. “There’s a lot to play for over the last few events of the season in terms of the DP World Tour Rankings and Ryder Cup qualification, and I’m looking forward to another good week at Sun City.”
The Ryder Cup also featured in Migliozzi’s third DP World Tour win, with the Italian lifting the Open de France trophy at Le Golf National – scene of Europe’s 17.5-to-10.5 victory over the United States in 2018.
He made his debut in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the end of a 2019 season in which he won both the Belgian Knockout and Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa, and returns to a field that also includes European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald, as another impressive year draws to a close.
“I’ve only had the chance to play there once, but the Nedbank Golf Challenge is a great week on Tour and I’m glad to see it back on the schedule,” Migliozzi said. “It’s the second-last event of the season with a lot of points on offer, so we’ll be aiming for a big finish.”
The trio of stars join Donald in a field that also includes defending champion and two-time Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood, who lifted the trophy in 2019 – the last time the event took place due to the Covid-19 pandemic – and South African DP World Tour winners Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Dean Burmester and Thriston Lawrence.
The winner of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit will also receive a place in the 64-player field at Gary Player Country Club.
The Nedbank Golf Challenge has been a highlight of the South African sporting calendar since the first edition in 1981, with an impressive list of former winners including the legendary Seve Ballesteros, South African golfing icon Ernie Els and Major Champions such as Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, Trevor Immelman and Danny Willett.
The 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge will once again be included on the DP World Tour schedule in partnership with Nedbank and Sun International, this season as the penultimate event before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. The $6-million event will also carry an increased number of DP World Tour Ranking Points, with 7,000 points available.