Robin Williams and Aldrich Potgieter, two of South African golf’s brightest young stars, will test themselves against a strong international field for the Nedbank Golf Challenge as they tee off in this DP World Tour event at Sun City from 5-8 December.
The 23-year-old Williams, who was given a personal invitation to compete by Gary Player in whose honour the Nedbank Golf Challenge is played, and 20-year-old Potgieter will form part of a showcase of Sunshine Tour talent on the fairways of the Gary Player Country Club.
They join Ryan van Velzen, the winner of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy for the 2023-24 season, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Erik van Rooyen as amongst the South Africans already confirmed for ‘Africa’s Major’.
The two young South Africans will go up against defending champion and six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa as well as fellow PGA Tour champions Will Zalatoris and Corey Conners, DP World Tour stars Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard, and victorious European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.
Both Williams and Potgieter will be making their debut in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and at a watershed moment in both of their careers.
Williams secured himself a DP World Tour card by virtue of his second place finish on the 2023-24 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit and was also the Sunshine Tour’s Fortress Rookie of the Year last season. He built on that success this year and caught world golf’s attention with a finish of tied fourth on his debut in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. He then returned home to the Sunshine Tour and successfully defended his Fortress Invitational title.
Potgieter heads to Sun City as the youngest champion in Korn Ferry Tour history after winning the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at the age of 19 years, four months and 11 days earlier this year. Potgieter also became the second youngest Korn Ferry Tour graduate ever to earn a PGA Tour card for next season.
Both Williams and Potgieter will lead the charge of a new generation of South Africans seeking to make their mark in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which has seen memorable victories by fellow South Africans Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman, Branden Grace, Fulton Allem and David Frost as well as Zimbabweans Nick Price and Mark McNulty.
